Unfaithful
by Flamboyant Flower
Summary: Kain's afraid that Ruka's been meeting someone else, so naturally he enlists a very reluctant Aidou to help him and both spy on her, leading to quite embarrassing and weird situations. However, what he finds out is more than he is able to deal with...
1. Bittersweet

Chapter 1. Bittersweet

**Disclaimer**: Me no ownie Vk-y.

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As the wind caressed her tresses, Ruka once again loathed herself, not for the first time. It was becoming quite normal, actually. The feelings of loath and happiness blended seamlessly, quite easily. She knew she should get out of there, turn her back on him and forget this had ever happened. Yes, that was the right thing to do. Only problem was... she didn't want to.

How selfish of her. By doing this she was hurting someone who loved her dearly. Someone who had been by her side ever since they were children, had always protected her, cared for her... She felt so utterly ungrateful, she hated what she was doing... But she also loved it.

He made her feel so good, so happy. She valued every minute she spent with him, it looked like they were in heaven. Yes, she was sure he was the closest she'd ever be to paradise, that fabled place of eternal joy and ethereal beauty. After all, he always brought joy and beauty with him.

Funny thing is, she would have never thought she'd end up with him, of all people. They were just so different, so unlike each other. But that made it even more interesting. And the secrecy gave her such an adrenaline rush. How immature.

It was his fault. He made her act like one of the screaming Day Class fangirls. Not that she actually screamed his name, she'd never do that. But she always felt a tingling sensation when he held her hand, touched her cheek, whispered in her ear...

She knew she should hate him for turning her into this kind of person. The worst kind, really. Weak, stupid, selfish, ungrateful, a traitor. She smiled dreamily. He's turned into a romantic fool, really.

She heard footsteps. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The feel of his arms around her was so familiar now. Leaning back on him, she closed her eyes, inhaling his scent.

How did it all begin?

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**A/N:**Here's the first chappie. Ruka's rambling on about her situation. It's quite short, so consider it as a kind of prologue.

I know there's not much to review yet but...

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW ^^!


	2. Suspect no 1

Chapter 2. Suspect no. 1

**Disclaimer**: VK be not in my possession.

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As the phone rang, Ruka woke up. Picking it up, she heard Shiki's voice. "Ruka?"

The haziness of sleep immediately cleared from her brown eyes. "Shiki? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah... hum..." He hesitated, before continuing. "Do you think you could pick me up from the photo shoot?"

That was strange. Didn't he and Rima usually come back together in a car with their agent? "Yeah, sure, but... you know I can't drive."

His answer was immediate and impatient. "Call for a taxi, anything. Just meet me here."

"Okay, see you." Ruka hung up the phone. Shiki sounded quite nervous, something she had never seen or heard. As she got dressed, she wondered what could be wrong. Maybe something had happened to Rima! She calmed herself. No, if that was the case, he would have asked her to take them to hospital, not to pick him up. But why didn't he just call for a taxi himself? Ruka closed her bedroom's door, and when she turned to the corridor, she found Kain. "Akatsuki? What are you doing up so early?"

Kain rubbed one of his amber eyes. "Hanabusa needs a glass of water and can't be bothered to get it himself."

The long-haired beauty roled her eyes. "You know, you should stop letting him take advantage of you. Your cousin's not a baby, even though he behaves like one..."

Kain merely smiled. "It's okay, it gave me a chance of talking to you. Ruka..."

Her eyes widened with terror at the thought of what he was about to say. 'No, please don't say it, Akatsuki. I can't deal with it now.' She cut him off. "Sorry, Akatsuki, but I have to go pick up Shiki. Talk to you later." She went around him quickly.

As he heard her foosteps, Kain sighed. Why did he have the feeling that she was hiding something from him?

"Hey, Akatsuki?"

Kain didn't turn around to see who it as. He could recognize his disheveled-haired cousin's voice anywhere. "What?"

"Instead of water, could you bring..." Aidou noticed how the red-haired vampire wasn't really listening to him, simply gazing at the stairs. "Akatsuki? What's up?"

Kain sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit. "It's Ruka."

"Is there anything wrong with her?"

"No... I mean, I don't know. She just walked off as I was about to tell her that..." Kain stopped the next words from coming through his lips.

Aidou knew exactly what Kain wanted to say. "Maybe it's not the right time yet."

"Maybe..." His voice became curious. "But it looked like she was hiding something from me, you know?"

"Hiding something? You don't think she's seeing someone else, do you? Because that's just silly."

Kain's eyes widened. "Seeing someone else? She said she was going to meet Shiki..."

Aidou could have slapped himself right then. By trying to make his cousin feel better, he'd just made him feel worse! By trying to expell a suspicion from Kain's mind, he'd just buried it there even deeper than before. "Akatsuki, she wouldn't do that."

"Why not? She has no idea of what I feel for her... What's stopping her?"

"Akatsuki, it's a stupid suspicion. Plus, Shiki's always with Rima, so..."

Kain ignored his words. "Hanabusa, I need your help."

"My help? What for?"

"I need to know if she's with him."

"I told you, she's not." Aidou sighed. "Look, I know I never really got along with her very well, but I know that she wouldn't do this. She like Kaname-sama, remember?"

Kain stroked his chin. "I know, but she's been acting strange. Come with me. It's the only way to find out. Please, I can't do this alone. You're always telling me to take the initiative. Well, that's what I'm doing now."

Aidou sighed. The things Kain made him do...

__________________________________________

As Ruka got out of the taxi, she saw him waiting for her. He immediately walked up to her. "That was fast."

"Well, it looked like it was something important."

Shiki gave her the smallest of smiles. "It is." He took her hand and started walking.

Looking around her , Ruka frowned. She didn't recognise this part of town. "Shiki, where are we going?"

"Somewhere where Rima can't see us."

She blinked. "Eh? Why?"

He turned to her and smiled a proper smile. "It's a secret. By the way, nice jacket."

Ruka looked at her jacket. She'd accidentally picked it up from Rima's bed in her sleepy state. "Thanks, it's the one from your last magazine."

____________________________________________

"Akatsuki, stay put!" Aidou was trying to stop Kain from beating up Shiki. How come he controlled himself around Kaname, but not when it came to other guys? "You're usually so calm, try to restrain yourself!"

Kain glared at him. "But they're holding hands! And he just complimented her clothes!"

Aidou sighed. "It's the jacket that Rima wore in their last photo shoot. Shiki is a model, so he'll appreciate good clothes, don't you think?"

Kain sulked, but also calmed down. "Fine."

"Good." The blond turned his attention to the people they were spying on. "Hey, look. They're going into a restauran..." Aidou's words got caught in his throat.

"A restaurant?" As soon as he saw it, Kain lost his mind. It was the most romantic restaurant in town. Everyone knew about it, some Day Class girls had even invited him to go there, but he'd refused, obviously. He stood up. "How dare he take her there?"

Aidou pulled him back behind the rubbish bin. "You're going to make Ruka angry if you storm in there!"

"Well, what do you propose we do then?"

_____________________________________________

Ruka and Shiki sat down at a table in one of the more private areas. He played with his crimson hair, nervously. "So, what do you think?"

She looked around, examining his efforts. "Shiki, it's beautiful. No girl would resist this, you even got a table in a private area."

He swallowed nervously. "Really? Do you really like it?"

Ruka smiled. "I love it."

"Why is she smiling like that?" Kain looked over his menu, his eyes throwing daggers at Shiki. He would never do this to Kaname, but Shiki wasn't Kaname, so he could pour his frustrations on him for now.

His cousin shrugged. "Maybe he told a joke?"

Kain glared at him, annoyed. "She's smiling, not laughing."

Aidou returned the glare. "Maybe it wasn't a very good joke."

Kain sighed. "Couldn't you have gotten us better disguises?" Kain looked at himself. He was wearing a red wig and a stupid dress. It could hardly be called a disguise, and he wondered how he had let Aidou convince him to wear this. "We look ridiculous."

"Correction. _You _look ridiculous." Aidou was pretty happy with his outfit. A moustache, a monocle, a top hat and a cane. "I wasn't planning on buying disguises, so I didn't have enough money for something better."

Noticing weird looks from the other clients, Kain's vein nearly popped and his eyes twitched. "People are staring at us..."

Aidou put his index finger in front his his lips. "Shh..." And then pointed discreetly at Shiki.

Kain looked at Ruka's table and his jaw dropped. Shiki was putting a diamond ring on Ruka's ring finger.

Aidou felt his moustache getting warmer. Kain was definitely pissed off. "Right, time to go." He stood up and practically dragged Kain outside.

"She's with Shiki. I'm going to kill him!"

Aidou tried to appease him. "Calm down. Look, let's go back to our Dorms. I'm sure this is all a big misunderstanding." Aidou tried to believe his own words. It had to be a very big misunderstanding...

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**A/N:**Quite a quick update, hey? Anyway, so Shiki's the first suspect. Could he be the one stealing Ruka away from Kain?

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW^^!


	3. Suspect no 2

Chapter 3. Suspect no 2

**Disclaimer:**VK belongs to m…pfff! *dies laughing*

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Kain wouldn't stop walking in circles ever since they'd come back from town. His unruly hair was messier than usual, and his muscles twitched with rage as he punched his hand. "That sneaky little..."

From the bed next to his, an annoyed voice demanded. "Akatsuki, stop walking like that, you're making me dizzy!"

Kain ignored his cousin and kept muttering to himself. "Wait till I get my hands on him, he's gonna be so sorry he ever..." A car. Kain stopped immediately and ran to the window, followed by Aidou. Ruka and Shiki had just arrived and were laughing and chatting happily. Kain noticed Shiki putting his arm around Ruka while smiling. Wide-eyed, he pointed and turned to the blond next to him, nearly hyperventilating. "He just...! Did you see that?"

"Oh, for the love of..." Aidou rolled his eyes and put his arm around Kain's shoulders. "There, sweetie. Does this mean we're dating?"

Kain sighed, annoyed. "Hanabusa, can't you take this more seriously?"

The blue-eyed boy crossed his arms. "Not until you lighten up. You know Ruka and Shiki weren't doing anything wrong. I know that, and so do you."

Kain chuckled. "You know, you've been more mature lately."

Aidou scoffed and waved his hand dismissively. "I've always been mature. It just took you this game of spies to acknowledge it."

They heard the door open downstairs. Kain ran to their bedroom's door. However, as soon as he got there, Aidou was already blocking his way. "Hanabusa, get out of the way!"

"No."

Kain wasn't the violent type, but Aidou was really getting on his nerves, so he shoved him aside and ran downstairs. There, he only saw Ruka, with no signs of Shiki. "Ruka?"

She turned around and stared at him. "Oh, hi, Akatsuki."

"Where's Shiki?"

She furrowed her brows at his impatient tone of voice. "Shiki?"

"Yeah, I saw him coming in with you. So, where is he?"

Ruka frowned again. Kain seemed very tense. "He had to go somewhere."

Kain pressed. "Where?"

"I don't know, he didn't tell me. Do you have to talk to him?"

He sighed in defeat, having missed his target. "Yeah... but it can wait." Kain paused. He was alone with Ruka, so maybe now was the right moment. "Ruka, this morning I..."

"Akatsuki!" Aidou came tumbling down the stairs, falling flat on his face. "Ugh!"

"Hanabusa, are you okay?" Ruka rushed to his side to help him up. "That was a nasty fall, we should take you to the nurse. Akatsuki, can we talk later?"

"Well,..."

"Okay, thanks." Ruka quickly helped Aidou to the nurse's office, leaving a stunned Kain behind. As soon as they got to the medical room, she dumped Aidou on a chair. "There, you can wait here. Bye."

Aidou protested through the hand that was shielding his nose. "What? You're going to leave me here alone?"

Ruka cocked her head to the side, and looked at him as if the answer was blatantly obvious. Which it was, really, if he bothered to think about it. "Yeah, I have to go somewhere. Bye"

________________________________________________

"Well, Aidou-kun, your nose will hurt for a while, but it will get better. Kain-kun is already outside waiting for you." The smiling nurse left him and turned her attention to another patient.

Looking at the door where his cousin was expecting him, Aidou frowned. 'Akatsuki's waiting for me? No way am I going out there.' Looking around, he walked to the window and jumped. He was really happy with himself, dodging Kain and all... Wait... He looked down. There was someone waiting outside, who... Kain! "No!" Aidou lost his balance, falling flat on his face again. "Ugh!"

Kain sighed, roling his amber eyes. "You're so predictable..." He pulled him up. "Come on."

The blond whined, protesting. "Where are we going? I just fell off the window, I can't go anywhere!"

Kain took a small notebook out of his blazer and gave it to Aidou. "Here."

Aidou took it and read it. Senri Shiki. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"I'm going to write down the name of anyone who might be a suspect and..."

The golden-blond interrupted him. "A suspect?"

"Yeah, Shiki's the first one. I mean, you said you were sure they weren't together, so what if it's someone else? This way, I can analyse it."

Aidou gave him the notebook back, a serious expression on his features. "I'm not doing this."

"Hanabusa..."

"Don't you 'Hanabusa' me! You're going too far, you're calling her a promiscuous slut!"

"I would never call her that!" Kain clenched his fists. "I just really need to know. Can't you understand that?"

Aidou averted his eyes. "Fine. Where is she?"

________________________________________________

The blond giggled. "Tee-hee!"

"You're awfully happy."

"I am!"

"Hey, where are we going?"

"Tsk, tsk, Ruka-chan, it's a surpriiiiise..." Ichijou was very, very, very happy. Happier than usual, actually. He was covering Ruka's eyes with his hands, to make sure nothing would ruin the surprise.

"You know, it's getting kinda chilly."

"Oh, Ruka-chan, do you need me to hug you?" Ichijou hugged her, smiling. "Is this better?"

"Yep, much better." She looked around. "So, this is where we are."

Ichijou covered her eyes immediately. "Ruka-chan, that was sly!"

She laughed. "It's not my fault you're so easy!"

Ichijou gave her a piece of paper and pretended he was annoyed. "Really, you're so immature..."

Ruka read it, sighed, and grinned. "Oh, you know I only act like this when I'm with you, sweetie, I can't help it."

___________________________________________________

Aidou huffed, annoyed at his cousin's snail pace. "Akatsuki, you do realise you have to walk, right?"

"I know, I just don't know if I want to know what's happening..."

Aidou immediately spun on his heels. "Then let's go back."

Kain grabbed his coat. "Nice try. We're following them."

"Fine. Where are they now?"

Kain peeked above the wall. His eyes widened. "Hanabusa, they're going into a motel!"

Aidou, currently Kain's stool, got up immediately. "What?!" Climbing on Kain's back, he looked at the place. It looked like a normal building, with the exception of the pink hearts outside. The kind of building where you know something's going on, but never know what. "It can't be a motel, it doesn't have the huge sign outside."

"It doesn't have to."

"Akatsuki..."

"I know, I know. I shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"What do we do now? They're obviously gonna be there for a while."

"We wait."

________________________________________________

"Hahahahahaha!"

Aidou woke up, startled, recognising Ichijou's laughter. Looking to the the person next to him, he nudged his cousin. "Hey, Akastuki, wake up."

Kain groaned. "What happened?"

The blond boy got up. "I think they're leaving. How long were they in there?"

Kain looked at his watch. "Four hours!" He got up as well and gazed above the wall. His amber eyes widened. "Th-th-th-!"

"What's wrong?"

Kain pointed. "They're not wearing the same clothes they came in!"

Aidou rolled his eyes and looked, unexpectedly confirming what his cousin had said. The clothes were definitely different! He seriously had to have a talk with her now.

Ichijou put his arm around Ruka's shoulders, obviously in cloud nine. "I love you so much, dear."

"I love you too, honey."

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**A/N:**So, Taku-chan's our second suspect! I don't think Kain will like what he just saw/heard!

As usual, PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW^^!


	4. Suspect no 3

Chapter 4. Suspect no. 3

**Disclaimer**: Dude, the only thing I own are my stories, and I don't even own the characters in them!

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Ever since yesterday, Kain lay on his bed in foetal position, sulking. Buckets of chocolate ice-cream were on his bedside table, and piles of lavender-scented tissues littered the floor around his bed, indicating who he had stolen them from. "My life sucks."

Aidou sighed, picking up the tissues. Was this really his cousin, or had some love-struck teenager taken his place? "No, it doesn't, you're not picking up tissues with someone else's snot... and you ate all my chocolate..."

"Yes it does, she doesn't love me."

"We don't have any proof that it actually happened."

"But, but we saw them in different clothes, and that building had hearts outside."

Aidou was quite annoyed by Kain's whining now. "So what? It doesn't mean they did it!"

Kain's eyes watered up even more."I made you angry now, I'm a terrible person! Why would Ruka ever like someone so awful as me!"

Aidou nearly fainted, was the redhead making fun of him? "Crybaby..."

Kain sat up. "I'm not a crybaby!"

"Oh really? Crying all day while eating ice cream and hugging your pillow looks like the behaviour of a crybaby to me."

"You have no right to talk, you don't know what it feels like. It's like your whole world has been turned upside down and black is white. Nothing makes sense anymore."

Aidou averted his gaze. "If you feel like that, then you should stop this detective game."

Kain chuckled. "No way."

"But it's killing you, you should stop."

"Hanabusa, I know you don't approve of this, but I want to go through with it until I know for sure what's going on."

Aidou let out a whisper. "What if you don't like what you find? What will you do then?"

"I... I don't know."

Silence filled the room. Kain was worried about what he could find out about Ruka thanks to Aidou's words. On the other side of the room, Aidou was silent as well, lost in his own thoughts. Steps from the corridor were heard. Aidou saw Kain's eyes shine. "Akatsuki, don't."

"It's her. We have to go."

"No, you just said..."

"I'll deal with that when the time comes. Now I just want to go after her. Come on."

Kain left the room, followed by a very reluctant Aidou.

_________________________________________________________

"Akatsuki, it's too bright, I'm sleepy. Lets go back..."

Kain ignored Aidou's whiny voice. They were in the Academy's forest, trying not to be discovered by Ruka. "Shh, I don't want her to hear us."

"Well, then if we were in our dorm, she wouldn't hear us at all."

Kain looked at Aidou as if he was an idiot. "Yeah, but we wouldn't be able to see what she's up to either."

Aidou's reply was sarcastic. "Oh no, how terrible..." He bumped into Kain's back. "Ouch, my nose!"

"Shh, she stopped."

Aidou peeked over Kain's shoulder. Ruka had stopped and took a tablecloth out of her bag. Setting it down, she got some boxes out of the same bag and opened them. Aidou's nose picked up the lovely scents of chocolate, cream and pastries. She arranged them in a platter and got some drinks out of the bag.

"She's preparing a picnic."

Aidou frowned. "That's too much food just for one person."

"You're so naive, she's obviously meeting someone. And by the type of food, I'd guess it's Ichijou."

Ruka got up and disappeared among the trees. "She's gone, let's eat."

Kain grabbed Aidou's sleeve. "Don't be silly."

"It's easy for you to talk, you ate all of my ice-cream!" Aidou let himself fall to the ground. "I'm hungry..."

"Shut up, she's coming bac..." Kain's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, is she alone?" Silence. "Hey, Akatsuki?" Silence. Aidou got up and waved his hand in front of Kain's eyes, but in vain. Turning around to see what had made Kain so surprised, his own voice disappeared completely.

Ruka was coming out of the trees, pulling someone by the hand. That person's uniform identified him as a student, but it was black. Which meant he was a Day Class student... As soon as his face got out of the shadows, Aidou nearly fainted. It was... Zero Kyriuu.

"It's K-K-Ky-Ky-Ky..." Aidou was stuttering like mad, he couldn't finish the sentence. What the hell was going on inside Ruka's head? He came back to reality when his nose picked up the smell of smoke. Looking at his sleeve, he saw that it was on fire! "What the hell?! Akatsuki, stop it!!"

Tearing his eyes away from Ruka and Zero, Kain realized what he'd done. "Use your ice!"

"I can't, it melts!"

Kain grabbed Aidou's coat and threw it on the floor, stepping on the sleeve until it stopped burning. Picking it up, he gave it back. "Here you go."

Aidou eyed the now earth-covered coat. "Err...no, thank you. You owe me a new Armani coat."

They went back to the task of spying on Ruka and Zero. They were siting down next to each other and talking, although Kain and Aidou couldn't hear them. Zero's eyes never left Ruka's face and he seemed to be concentrating on every single word she said.

"Why is she with him? He's a Level E and disrespects Gang Leade... I mean, Dorm President Kuran, she despises him."

Aidou didn't reply immediately. He was as confused as Kain. Why was Ruka having a picnic with that Kyriuu guy? "I don't know."

As they wondered why, they saw Zero leaning closer to Ruka. Kain tensed. "No..."

"He can't."

Zero bit her.

"That lowlife!" Kain shouted.

"That bloody bastard!" Aidou added.

They were both shocked. How could Ruka let him do that to her? She wasn't even fighting back! Kain clenched his fists, his red eyes showing his intent on damage. "I'm going to put and end to this right now."

Aidou was more than happy to let him do that, but he still wanted to believe they were wrong, that somehow there was an explanation for this. As Kain was starting to walk towards them, Aidou stopped him. "We should go back now."

Kain looked at him, baffled. "What? We can't leave them like this. I know you must be angry as well, no mater how much yo utwo argue, she's our childhood friend!"

"I am, okay? I am very, very angry right now, I can't even see straight. But..."

"No 'buts'! I'm going there." Kain started walking again, only to feel a heavy weight on his back. "Hanabusa, do you think you could get off of me?"

"No."

"Fine, I'll carry you there then." Kain lifted his foot, only to find that he couldn't, as it was frozen. He let out a sigh. "Hanabusa..."

"What?"

"You do know I can just melt it, right?"

"Oh." As Aidou heard the fire crackle and melt his translucent ice, he had to think fast. Suddenly it hit him... literally. A tree branch hit him on the nose, giving him an idea. Hanging on to a branch, Aidou wrapped his legs around Kain's waist, making him unable to keep walking.

"Hanabusa, stop being so stubborn." Kain pulled, but Aidou and the branch were quite strong, so he simply took one of Aidou's shoes off and tickled him.

"Haha! ...Akatsuki, stop it ...haha!" Aidou squirmed, however he had to let go of Kain, hanging onto the branch. "Hey, Akatsuki, wait, you can't leave me hanging here! Akatsuki!" Aidou made such a fuss that the branch broke, leading to him falling flat on his face... again. He rubbed his nose. "Dammit..." Seeing Kain walking away, he wondered how he could stop him now. Looking at the branch next to him, he shrugged. It was worth a try. "Akatsuki, look!"

Kain turned around. "What is it n..." Bam! Aidou hit him with the tree branch.

Aidou cleaned the dust off his hands, muttering. "Think you can leave me there..." Grabbing Kain's feet, he started to drag him back to the dorm. No way was he going to pick him up after what he'd done to his nose.

"Aidou-senpai? What are you doing to Kain-senpai?"

Aidou didn't stop dragging his cousin, recognizing Yuuki's voice. "He's sleepy, I'm taking him back. Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Yeah, but I was looking for Zero. He's been acting weird lately. Have you seen him?"

".... Maybe..."

"Err... yes or no?"

"Maybe, now let me do this alone or help me."

"No, thank you, I have stuff to do." Yuuki walked away, knowing that since all the students were in class, she didn't have to worry about him preying on the Day Class girls.

Aidou finally arrived to the dorm. "You can stay here." Letting go of Kain, he entered their room and left him outside the door. He was tired and hungry thanks to his cousin, so it seemed fair to leave him there until he woke up. Falling on his lavender-scented bed, he immediately fell asleep, but not before wondering what Ruka and Zero were doing.

* * *

**A/N:**Yes, Zero is the new suspect. Bet you didn't see THAT coming. Poor Aidou's nose, I'm too mean to it^^

I'm running out of suspects, so I think you will find out who the mistery guy is soon.

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW^^!


	5. The culprit

Chapter 5. The culprit

**Disclaimer**: Vk is not mine… unfortunately.

* * *

Aidou woke up with ice-cold water being poured all over him. "What the ...?!?!" Looking around, he saw Kain, frowning but with the hint of a smirk, holding an empty bucket. "Akatsuki, what the hell was that for?"

"For leaving me outside. Do you have any idea how much pain I'm feeling on my neck right now?" Kain cracked his neck.

Aidou rolled his eyes. "Oh, boo-hoo. You've obviously forgotten that you left me hanging there on that damn tree. Do you know how much my nose hurts?"

"Your broken nose is nothing compared to my broken heart."

Aidou snorted, one of his veins popping. "Dude, that was so cheesy. This is not you. The Akatsuki I know doesn't mope around like this because of some girl."

Kain took offence to these words. "She's not some girl, she's more than that."

"What is she then? The reason of your whole existence? Were you born to make her happy? Give me a break." Aidou got out of bed.

"You don't understand."

Aidou impersonated him. "'You don't understand.' I'm sick of hearing you say that! Here I am, trying to keep you from getting hurt, and you just push me away, break my nose, and ignore me. How about today you just 'analyse' your findings, hey?"

Kain pondered on what Aidou had said. It was a good idea, he should probably see which one of the three was the most likely suspect. However, there was a problem. "What if she leaves?"

"I don't know, go after her as usual." Aidou was getting dressed.

"Where are you going?"

"I need food, you ate all of my chocolate and there's none in the kitchen. Today's Saturday so I'm going to stuff myself. See ya!" Well, he didn't really _need_ it, but he had a very sweet tooth. Waving at his cousin, he left.

Kain walked over to his bed and took the notebook out of his pocket. Three names: Senri Shiki, Takuma Ichijou and Zero Kyriuu. He replayed the events in his head.

Shiki had taken Ruka to a romantic restaurant, complimented her clothing, and given her a ring. He noticed that he'd never seen Ruka wear the ring again, so maybe it wasn't that serious.

Ichijou. Kain glared at the paper. He'd taken her _somewhere_, been there for four hours, and when they left they were wearing different clothing that, thinking back, looked quite weird. And they'd told each other "I love you", which ate him inside.

Unwilling to think more about his second suspect, he quickly went to Zero. He was the most unlikely suspect of them all. A low-class vampire, hunter and Day Class student. Why would she ever be attracted to him? The picnic scene was weird and completely freaked him out. He didn't get it. Why would she even give that guy the time of day?

So Ichijou was number one, followed by Shiki, followed by Zero.

____________________________________________________________

Ruka woke up, unable to continue sleeping due to the incessant knocking on the window. She was going to kill whoever thought a window was better than a door. As she drew the curtains back, the irritation disappeared. It was him. She quickly unlocked the window and opened it, letting him in.

He jumped in graciously and looked around. "Is Rima here?"

"No, she's at a photo shoot, you know that."

"Yeah, I must have forgotten."

"So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit to?"

He averted his beautiful eyes and murmured. "I want to talk to you about us."

Ruka frowned. He didn't look very happy. "What exactly do you want to talk about?"

"I think we should end our relationship." His tone was sombre and his voice, always so cheerful, was laced with regret.

She didn't blink, instead displaying a bored look. "Okay."

He couldn't believe her reaction, or rather lack of it. "That's it? I thought you'd argue more."

"Would that make a difference?" She looked at him. She truly did love him, and couldn't imagine being without him, but she knew he was feeling guilty. "This isn't the first time we've talked about it. Remember the first time we kissed? You couldn't look at me in the eyes, you didn't want to be near me, you just couldn't stand me at all."

"That's not true. I just..." His melodic voice stopped abruptly. It wasn't that he couldn't stand her, he just couldn't forgive himself. He was sure that the comfort and warmth he felt when they were together was a sin.

"It's okay. You can go." Ruka turned towards the window, waiting for him to leave. As she felt his arms snake around her, she smiled.

He buried his face in her neck, letting her inhale his expensive new French cologne. "You're saying that because you know I can't leave you. You're so sly..."

She leaned back and said the words that had become so familiar to him by now. "It's your fault. You make me act like this."

He softly planted butterfly kisses on her neck. "Until when will you blame me?"

"Mmh... I don't know, it's so fun. Maybe I'll stop when you stop trying to break up with me." She felt his lips stop and move away. "Are you going now?"

He locked the door, walked around her, and locked his gaze with hers. "You know I'll never go." He pulled her towards him and their lips met in a passionate kiss. His arms trapped her waist and torso against him, while she surrounded his neck with hers, burying her fingers in his luscious hair. He breathed, between kisses. "I've missed you."

"Me too."

After a while, he pulled his face away from hers, guilt in his eyes. "This is wrong."

"I know."

They both looked away from each other, but didn't move one inch away. They knew they were being hypocrites, always saying it was the last time, but knowing it never was. They'd blamed themselves and each other, but it just couldn't be stopped now. They knew they were in too deep, that it was impossible to go back. And they didn't want to go back, they liked the situation as it was, with one exception. And that exception was the person they were hurting the most, the person who made them despise their happy moments together.

It would be so easy if their attraction was purely physical. If they merely liked each other's looks, faces, hair, they could, and indeed would, end it right now. The problem was that they enjoyed talking, spending time together, and even silence was enjoyable, as long as they were both there. Ruka couldn't live without his smile now, and he was incapable of imagining a day without hearing her voice.

She leaned her head on his chest. "What do we do now?"

He smiled.

____________________________________________

While he was thinking of the best way to ask Ruka about her recent escapades, Kain's stomach rumbled. Standing up, he walked down the stairs to the kitchen and got a glass. Pouring water into it, he looked at the window, absent-minded. He remembered Rima walking to her and Shiki's agent's car that morning and, wondering where Shiki could be, went up the stairs. As he passed near her bedroom's door, he stopped. Maybe now was the right time.

Kain took a deep breath. And another one, and another one, and another one just in case... Finally, after many deep breaths, he knocked.

Ruka answered in a hurried voice, as if she'd just been interrupted. "Who is it?"

"It's Akatsuki. Can we talk?"

"Err... yeah, wait just a bit." He heard whispers and frantic steps. "I'll be there in a sec, Akatsuki." As he listened more closely, he recognized one of the whispers as being a male voice. He was in her room? Ruka opened the door, her hair looking disheveled and her clothes appearing kind of scruffy. Her voice sounded out of breath. "Hi, Akatsuki, sorry for making you wait."

Kain entered her room and looked around discreetely. "It's okay. Were you busy?"

Ruka sweat-dropped. "Yeah, kind of..."

"Where is he?"

Ruka was taken aback by the promptness of the question. "Who?"

Kain glared at her. "You know who. The guy you've been meeting with behind my back." Kain took his mobile out of his pocket and dialed a number. "Aidou, where are you?"

A familiar voice replied. "I'm at the sweets store. The doughnoughts today are divine. Why, what's up?"

"I need you here. Now."

Aidou grumbled. "Now?"

"Now."

"Fine. Where?"

"Ruka's bedroom."

The blond's voice seemed surprised. "What? What are you doing there?"

"Just hurry up." Kain hung up and started looking around Ruka's room. Maybe the guy was still there.

"Do you mind?" Ruka was quite annoyed. Did he think he could just barge in there and peek under the beds?

Kain called Aidou again. "Where are you?"

"I'm doing my best, okay? I'm almost ther..." Kain heard the sound of someone falling. "My nose!"

Sighing, Kain hung up again. And that's when he noticed the open window. Walking towards it, he picked up a scent. It was fading away due to the open window, and it was hard to discern what it was. Kain closed his eyes. If he could identify what it was, it would be so much easier to know who the guy was. He inhaled deeply and recognised... lavender?

"Akatsuki, I'm here!" Aidou leaned on the door, trying to catch his breath.

"Great, just great. You have to ruin everything, don't you, Hanabusa?"

Aidou's jaw dropped. He'd ran all the way from the city carrying doughnoughts, some of which he was planning on giving to Kain, hurt his nose again, and now was being blamed for ... he didn't even know why! "What did I do now?"

"Your lavender perfume is overpowering the guy's smell."

Aidou bit a doughnought. "What guy?"

"The guy who was here with Ruka."

Aidou looked at Ruka, who was sitting on her bed, with her arms crossed, and looking very pissed off. "You were here with a guy?" Ruka shot him a deadly glare, making him gulp and look away, sweating nervously. If looks could kill, he'd be dead and buried by now.

"Do you think you could leave now?"

"Not until you tell me who you were here with."

"For goodness sake, Akatsuki. The only people who were here were Rima, me, you and now your stupid cousin. By the way, Hanabusa, I don't remember inviting you to eat your greasy food here."

"You're just jealous that I can eat it without getting fat."

"Just get out, both of you!" She kicked them out of her room. "Have a nice day."

Aidou knocked on the door. "Ruka, I left my doughnoughts there!"

"Tough." This was her only reply.

"Akatsuki, she won't give me my doughnoughts back!"

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the mystery dude has made an appearance! Do you know who he is? Well, he's ..... nope, sorry, I can't say :p You'll know more next time.

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW^^!


	6. The puzzle falls apart

Chapter 6. The puzzle falls apart

**Disclaimer**: I don't own it, so all of you should be glad ;)

* * *

The Cross Academy's forest was quiet, with only the cool wind creating a symphony of rustles and sounds. Suddenly a soft, feminine voice echoed, demanding.

"Say it again."

A male voice answered. "I love you."

Ruka threw her slender arms around the silver-haired boy's neck. "Oh, Zero-kun, that was the first time I actually heard you say it without hesitating!"

Zero blushed slightly, but didn't make a move to disentangle her from his person. He was quite please with his little achievement. "Yeah..."

The beauty with long locks noticed something. Sniffing, she looked at him and said, with a triumphant smile. "You're wearing the cologne I bought you."

Zero looked away, mumbling. "I thought it would be nice, and it's not like it's the first time I'm wearing it..."

She stopped hugging him and remarked. "You know, if someone had told me when I first met you that we would be so close now, I would have probably have sent them to a mental institution."

He laughed. "That's it? I wouldn't have been so merciful with them..."

She punched his arm jokingly. "You're so mean!"

"Well, you have to admit, you were a real bi..."

Ruka cut him off. "Language!"

Zero rolled his eyes, annoyed at her objection to swearing. "A not very nice person to me back then. But now you've changed, you're more easy-going, you're nicer." He talked to her as if she was a child. "You smile more, and that makes you prettier."

She mimicked his condescending tone. "Well, you're more talkative and less scary when you smile."

Zero took her hand and smiled with tenderness and pure gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you... for everything you've given me."

_____________________________________________________

Aidou kept nudging his cousin. "Akatsuki, come on, get up."

A mufled sound was his answer. "No."

"Come on, it's almost time for class..."

"I'm not going to class today."

Aidou was so surprised that his eyebrows went so high that they nearly disappeared under his hair. "You're skiving? Without me? I feel betrayed."

Hearing the word betrayed, Kain just buried his pale face deeper in his pillow. "I don't feel like going to class today, okay? I don't ...want to see her."

The blond crossed his arms in a reproachful manner. "Why are you acting like this now? Why didn't you say that the first time you suspected her?"

Kain looked at the floor. "Because I always told myself that there was no proof that it was actually happening. I kept believing that it was mere coincidence. But it's so hard to think that way now. I can't keep lying to myself after what happened on Saturday."

"But you've been in that bed for two days now!" The honey-blond boy was getting really worried with his cousin.

Kain scoffed. "So? It's not like I haven't done any work, I've been thinking of my suspects."

Aidou sighed and rolled his aqua-marine blue eyes. "Again? And what was your conclusion this time?"

"Still inconclusive. It's just that Kyriuu is an unlikely suspect, but Ichijou and Shiki would never do that to me, right? I mean, Ichijou has always known that I like Ruka, and Shiki always seemed more in tune with Rima, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Could you do me a favour and keep an eye on her? I really don't feel like seeing her today."

Aidou had a determined look in his eyes. "Don't worry, I'll do more than that. I'm going to confront her about this whole situation!"

Kain answered lazily. "Okay, but don't do anything rash."

Aidou looked at him, extremely surprised. "You mean you won't try to stop me?"

Kain sighed. "I'm too tired. Just don't make a really big scene." He added the words 'really big' because he knew it was impossible for Hanabusa Aidou not to make a scene.

"Don't worry, I'll get to the bottom of this." He spun on his heels and started walking, looking at his cousin't pitiful form in the bed. If he could somehow make him feel bett... "OUCH! My nose!" He covered his nose with his hands and glared at the wall, silently promising revenge.

___________________________________________________

"Ruka-chan, here you are!"

Golden-brown hair twirled around as she turned to see the happy boy who'd called her name. "Takuma, hey!"

Ichijou sat next to her. He was sure Rima didn't mind, since that meant she could sit next to Shiki. "Have you had a nice day?"

She smiled. "A wonderful one, thank you for asking. What about you?"

"Well..." He blushed slightly. "Actually, I've been thinking how to ask you to go out with me again..." He looked at her sideways to evaluate her reaction.

Ruka didn't react. "Like the other night?"

He swallowed nervously. "Yeah..."

She grinned. "Sure, I had lots of fun last time!"

Two rows behind them, Aidou sat observing them and writing notes. Next to him was Shiki, who was slightly curious.

"What are you writing? You never pay attention in class."

"None of your business." Aidou pointed to him suddenly. "And you're next! What were you doing with Ruka the other day?"

Shiki looked away, disinterested, but with the start of a red shade on his pale cheeks. "None of your business."

"Come on, I need to know!"

"Why?"

Aidou hesitated, pondering on his answer. He was sure Kain wouldn't want him to tell Shiki about his feelings for Ruka. "Because."

"It's private."

"Private schmivate! Shiki, this is very important."

The crimson-haired boy didn't give in. "No. You'll know eventually anyway."

Aidou let his face fall on the desk, frustrated. "Ouch! My nose!" Of course, that led him to glare at the desk and swear it would have the same fate as the wall.

_______________________

As classes ended, Ruka and Ichijou said goodbye and went their separate ways. Witnessing this, Aidou saw his chance to talk to her alone. Getting close to her, he swiftly pinned Ruka against the wall. He placed both hands on the cold stone, on either side of her to prevent her from escaping. "You've got to stop this!"

She stared at him and noticed that his usually bright blue eyes were dangerously close to red. "What are you talking about?"

He glared at her, so close that she tried to step away, but was thwarted by the wall behind her. "Look, Akatsuki is getting seriously hurt because of your little dates with Kyriuu, Ichijou and Shiki."

Ruka's eyes widened. "How do you kno..."

The blond-haired aristocrat interrupted her impatiently. "We've been following you around. He knows that you're meeting someone behind his back, and he just can't take it anymore. Don't you understand how much you're hurting him?"

She glared back at him. "Why don't you help me put a stop to it then?"

"Why would I? I'm not involved in this, from now on it's your problem. I'm just telling you how you're affecting Akatsuki when you know how much he loves you."

Gritting her teeth, she pushed him away from her. "You're such a hypocrite! You know who the guy I'm meeting with is, but you won't tell your cousin, will you? You could stop the guy if you wanted to, he listens to you. You know you're as guilty as I am. Are you trying to wash your hands from the situation, Hanabusa?"

"Shut up! Just... shut up..." Aidou averted his eyes from her deviously angelical face. He knew she was right. He was making things worst by covering up what was going on. But that's why he told Kain to stop trying to find out what was happening... He looked at her in the eye. "I'm going to do it, he will never bother you again."

"Good luck." Her voice was calm and collected, but inside she was desperately wishing and begging Aidou to be successful and end this.

___________________________________________________

"How was class?" Kain was still lying in his bed.

"Boring as usual." Aidou started changing, so that he wouldn't have to face Kain.

"So, did you talk to Ruka?"

"Yeah..." She wanted him to help her end it. He knew she probably couldn't do it alone.

Kain's voice changed from monotonous to excited. "So, what happened?"

Aidou shrugged. "She said she'd stop."

"Really?" Kain sat up.

Aidou flinched when he heard Kain's hopeful question. Against his better judgement, he looked at his cousin. His amber eyes were shining with anticipation and his skin even looked healthier. His hair seemed brighter than usual and his face showed a happy grin. 'If he knew what I know...' Aidou looked away again. If Kain knew what he knew, he would be so crushed... He would hate him for not saying the truth and keeping it from him. He had been so out of order, letting Kain write on that stupid notebook and wonder about which of the suspects was the guilty one, when Aidou knew all along. "Yeah..."

Kain frowned. "What's wrong? You don't look very happy."

"I'm just sleepy." Aidou covered himself with his lavender-scented sheets and closed his eyes. What Kain said next made his world fall apart.

"Thank you, Hanabusa."

____________________________________________________

Ruka woke up with the sound of the window opening. It couldn't be Rima, she was out working... No, it couldn't be! Ruka's heart skipped a beat, thinking of the only other possibility. It wasn't possible, Aidou said he'd take care of it! She turned around on her bed and saw him, standing there and staring at her with a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I..." He bit his lip. He couldn't speak anymore.

She got up and walked over to him. "Get out."

"Ruk..." His voice sounded strained and he tried to touch her face.

She avoided his hand. "Don't touch me. I thought that after that conversation..."

He broke into tears and hugged her. "I can't let you go! I don't care who tells me to leave you, I won't! Even if Kaname-sama himself told me to, I would never be able to do it!"

She didn't reply. She was so taken aback by his unexpected response that she was speechless. He was crying. Crying. She could feel his warm tears soak her hair. "We're hurting Akatsuki..."

He hugged her even tighter than before at the mention of that name, afraid that she would slip through his fingers. "What about us? I bet he's never cried for you. I bet he never told you how beautiful you look in the moonlight." His voice fell into a whisper. "I bet he never betrayed his family..."

Tears started to form in her eyes, but she held those signs of weakness back. "Please don't do this, it's already hard enough as it is."

"Why do we have to break up? We don't want to."

"Akatsuki..."

"Why can't he accept that you don't feel the same? Why should we suffer? Maybe he's the selfish one."

"No, he's not. I don't know why you came here, you know this had to end. Today was the wake up call."

"But I love you."

* * *

**A/N:**Aww, poor mistery guy, he's suffering for his love *tear* And poor Aidou, his nose is still being attacked by objects that can't move lol XD

So, will we ever know who mystery guy is? Will Kain ever leave his bed? Will Shiki ever give a straight answer? Will Ruka go out with Ichijou anyway? Will Aidou's nose ever stop being abused (not likely :p). The answer to these questions will be in the next chapter (maybe not the answer to the first one, if I manage to put it off for long enough ;) )! So...

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW^^!


	7. Explanations

Chapter 7. Explanations

**Disclaimer**: No, I don't own VK, that's why I write FANfiction...

* * *

Aidou was walking along the corridor when he saw a very annoyed Ruka walking his way. Gulping, he immediately changed direction, and in that exact moment, a door suddenly opened. Bam! "Ouch, my nose!" Aidou covered his nose, fuming. This was the last straw, he was going to kill whoever had opened that damn door, they were going to wish they had never met Hanabusa Aidou! "Are you stupid or what, you twit? Don't you know who I am? You're gonna pay for this!"

A low, familiar voice replied. "Are you talking to me, Aidou?" From behind the door came Kaname, with a not very happy expression. Well, he never really had a happy expression, so maybe his expression was just a little bit sterner than usual.

Aidou turned several shades redder than his cousin's hair and started sweating uncontrollably, as if his sweat glands had all decided to conspire against him. He almost hyperventilated. "N-no! Of course not!"

"You do know that I do not approve of that kind of language."

Aidou lowered his blond locks and muttered. "Sorry, Kaname-sama."

"Behave yourself." Kaname walked away.

Aidou sighed and turned around. However, Ruka was right behind him. He jumped, putting his hand over his chest. "Oh, God, don't scare me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

She didn't seem to care much that she nearly killed him."Where's Akatsuki?"

"I don't know."

Her voice turned threatening and her eyes shot him a sharp, venomous look. "Yes, you do. Now I'm only asking once more or I'll tell Kaname-sama that you've been threatening Yuuki again."

His eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare."

She smirked. "Try me."

He protested feebly. "But I didn't do anything!"

She smirked again and crossed her arms. "Well, somehow I think he'll believe me over you."

"You conniving bi..."

"Language!"

'Bitch.' He smiled, satisfied. At least he could say whatever he wanted inside his mind. He wondered what else he could think of.

"I know that goofy look. You just insulted me, didn't you?"

Aidou tossed his hair arrogantly. "Pff, no. The world doesn't revolve around you, you know?"

Ruka smiled and talked with a sweet voice. "I really, really hate you. Now tell me where your cousin is if you don't want Kaname-sama going after you. And I'll tell him to aim for the nose."

"Fine, he went to the kitchen."

"Come on then." Ruka grabbed his sleeve and started walking towards the stairs. However, Aidou resisted, reluctant to leave the spot where he was standing. "Hanabusa..."

"Why do you want to see him?"

She didn't look at him. "You know why, don't play dumb."

Aidou's voice became serious. "No, I don't know why. I don't know why you actually want to do this."

"I want to end this once and for all, since you failed miserably."

He sniffed haughtily, bent on not letting her injure his massive pride. "You do understand what this means, right? You know the repercussions that this act will have. He's not going to forgive..."

"I know."

___________________________________________________

Kain was sitting in the kitchen reading his notebook when he saw Ruka and Aidou come in. They sat opposite to him. "Akatsuki, we have to talk." Ruka's tone was sombre.

Kain was suspicious. He wondered, not for the first time, since when they tolerated each other enough to sit together. "About what?"

Ruka nudged Aidou. He looked at her in a way that said 'No freaking way am I gonna tell him!' She rolled her eyes but quickly composed herself. "Hanabusa told me that you guys have been spying on me."

Kain glared at Aidou. "You told her?"

Aidou replied. "Hey, at least now you can confront her!"

Ruka continued. "He also told me that you have some suspects. Can I know who they are?"

Kain lowered his eyes. "Shiki, Ichijou and Kyriuu"

She arched an eyebrow. "Could you tell me why you chose them?"

"I saw you with Shiki in that romantic restaurant and he put a ring on your finger. You can't say that's not suspicious."

She looked around. "Promise you won't tell, this is a surprise."

He arched an eyebrow, but nodded his agreement. "Okay, we won't tell."

"Well, Shiki wants to propose to Rima, but he wasn't sure if she would like the way he's going to do it and he was nervous, so he asked me for my opinion. Haven't you noticed that I haven't worn the ring once?"

Kain averted his eyes. That made sense. "What about Ichijou? You two went into a motel and..."

Ruka held up her hand disbelievingly. "I'm sorry, did you just say I went into a motel with Takuma Ichijou?"

Kain continued, defiantly. "Yes, I did. And you two only came back four hours later wearing completely different stuff." He was quick to add. "Plus, you said you loved him!"

Aidou pitched in. "And yesterday he asked you to go out with him again."

The golden-brown haired girl decided to ignore the blond idiot who was supposed to be helping her right now. "Akatsuki, didn't you notice the type of clothes we were wearing when we left? Were they clothes that someone would wear normally?"

Kain tried to remember. Now that she mentioned it, they did seem overly theatrical and strange. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "It was an anime convention. Takuma really wanted to go and found out that couples could get in free. He thought I might not have wanted to go, so he told me it was a surprise and only gave me the paper saying that once we got there, and we bought the outfits later inside."

"So when you two said you loved each other...?"

"We were quoting some lines, nothing else." She looked sideways at Aidou. "And another convention's coming to town, so yesterday Takuma just asked me if I wanted to go with him, since I actually had fun last time."

Kain and Aidou exchanged looks, feeling quite stupid. If only they'd asked Ichijou, he would have been more than happy to tell the truth straight away. Kain spoke first. However, there was still one suspect left. "What about Kyriuu? We saw you two having a picnic."

"Oh really? Did you see me eating anything?"

Aidou muttered. "Well, no, we left before that."

Kain glared at him again. "No, you knocked me out with that stupid tree branch and then left me outside our room, so we didn't see what happened next."

"You left me hanging!"

"So? At least I was trying to solve the situation!"

Aidou looked away. "Whatever, it's not important if she ate anything or not, she still let him suck on her neck."

Ruka's eyes widened. "What?"

Aidou snapped at her. "Don't you try to deny it, we saw you two. You didn't even fight back..."

Ruka heard the disappointment and slight disgust in Aidou's voice. "I... It's complicated..."

Kain took a deep breath. "You mean... Is he...?"

She put both her hands up defensively, seeming quite shocked by the simple suggestion that something like that was going on between her and the silver-haired Guardian. "What? Of course not!"

"Then why?"

It was Ruka's turn to avert her eyes. "Zero-kun and I have become close friends ever since..." She hesitated. "You guys have to promise this won't leave this room."

Both of them nodded. "We promise."

"Zero-kun likes... Yuuki."

Both Aidou and Kain stared at her in disbelief. Aidou managed to stutter out a sentence. "Kyriuu likes Yuuki? Really?"

Kain was equally as shocked. Not just because Zero liked the Chairman's daughter, but also because Ruka knew about it. He knew Zero hated their kind, so he wouldn't have told Ruka something so personal. "How do you know that?"

Ruka thought back to the time when she stopped giving Kaname all of her attention and actually noticed what was going on around her. "Well, I noticed that he behaved differently around her and I was curious, so I paid more attention whenever they were together and alone. I eventually asked him about it during one of his nocturnal patrols."

"What did he do?" Aidou was quite curious.

"He ignored me, until I told him that I could help."

Kain frowned. "Why would you help him? He's so disrespectful to Dorm President Kuran."

Ruka blushed slightly. "Because... I knew what it felt like. Loving someone for years and them never noticing or acknowledging it, their heart belonging to someone else..." Ruka felt a pang of pain mixed with guilt in her chest. She'd done the same to Kain, hadn't she? Right now she wanted to hug him and beg him for the forgiveness she knew he wouldn't and shouldn't give her.

"How does this relate to what we saw?"

"I was going to help him to make Yuuki fall for him. So I prepared the picnic for both of them. First I told him what to do and say, and then I left while he went looking for her."

Aidou wondered whether Yuuki had found Zero after refusing to help him drag an unconscious Kain. "What about all the biting? You haven't explained that."

Ruka frowned and lowered her eyes. "He's a low class vampire, and finds it hard to restrain his thirst. He was afraid he'd ruin everything by biting Yuuki, so I let him drink just enough to help him resist temptation. That was the only time I ever let him do that."

"So... did it work? Are they together?"

"I don't know, he only managed to say the words 'I love you' without hesitating yesterday. I even bought him a cologne so he'd smell nice for the big occasion. I think he's going to talk to her about it today."

Kain frowned. "You know, if she feels the same about him, Dorm President Kuran will be furious..."

Ruka's shoulders slumped and she combed her hair with her fingers. "I know."

The red-haired boy continued. "This is so unlike you. You would never go against Dorm President Kuran's wishes, you'd cut your right hand before doing anything that would cause him a minimal amount of discomfort. And now you're helping someone he detests to be with the girl he loves..."

Ruka put her face in her hands. "You must think I'm a horrible person."

Kain got up and walked over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "No, I don't. I think you're being very kind, doing something that might get you into trouble, for the sake of someone else. I also owe you an apology."

She looked up at him. "An apology? Why?"

He sighed, blushing. "Until now I thought you were seeing one of those three, but there's always been a perfectly reasonable explanation for it. I'm sor..."

She cut him off. "No!" He blinked. "Akatsuki, don't apologize." She bit her lower lip. "I... _We_ have to apologise."

Kain blinked again. Siting down on a chair on her right, where one of the table's four corners was, he stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

She lowered her eyes again, trying not to close them like a coward. "I have been seeing someone."

Kain's eyes were glued to Ruka's guilty face as her words tore through him. He tried to speak, but it didn't come out. The words just vanished, taking his last remnant of hope with them. She had just admitted it, he couldn't deny it anymore. And then something else hit him. She said "_We_ have to apologise." His red eyes turned to his cousin. "You... You knew about this?"

Aidou gulped, terrified. The sweat glands decided that this was a good time to continue their evil master-plan to completely dominate his body, and his heart beat like crazy. He was going to die. He knew it, he could see the murderous plot in Kain's eyes. "I...I...I..." He broke down. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't tell you! The guy Ruka's been seeing is... Kaname-sama!"

* * *

**A/N:**Fancy that, the pureblood and Ruka? Well, I'd never...

I'm quite disappointed that I only got to hurt Aidou's nose once, but I think he's been through enough today, lol, with all those almost heart attacks!

Some of you might be confused. Well, leave your questions and I'll provide the answers on the next chapter, but only on one condition...

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW^^!


	8. Breaking point

Chapter 8. Breaking point

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Vampire Knight, Matsuri Hino rightfully does :)

* * *

Aidou's face was in his hands, and he was shaking all over. He was terrified of what would happen to him, he couldn't look up. He was pretty sure he was a second away from breaking into tears. He didn't think it was possible to feel worse than he already did, but still he was afraid of facing the two people who were sitting so close to him, but felt as if they weren't there. Still, against his better judgement, he looked at them. And it broke him.

Kain's eyes weren't red anymore. He was actually unusually calm, taking into consideration what the current situation was. He gazed at the wall behind Ruka, absent-minded. In his mind, he no longer had the right to be mad. Ruka had always been in love with Kaname, so he should be happy for her. Should. But he wasn't. How selfish of him. But was it? He'd protected her until now, had never told her how he felt, although he had tried. No-one could say he hadn't tried. Maybe he deserved to be a bit angry. Or at least sad. Disappointed. Heartbroken.

Ruka's gentle brown eyes had changed to bloody crimson. 'I hate you.' She was looking at Aidou as if he was the most disgusting thing she had ever laid her eyes upon. 'I hate you.' How could he do this to her? 'I hate you.' He was such a coward, saying that. 'I hate you.' Bastard. 'I hate you.' That low-life had just betrayed her and broken his promise. 'I hate you.' She wanted to break him.

Silence enveloped the kitchen for what seemed like an eternity. Far too long for their liking. However, they didn't notice the minutes go by. Aidou was still shaking, Kain still gazed at the wall, and Ruka still glared at the traitor next to her.

"I hope you and Dorm President Kuran are happy." Kain didn't try to mask his affirmation with false happiness, and it came out as fake as it trully was.

Ruka didn't look at him, her attention was still on Aidou. "Kaname-sama has nothing to do with this."

The red-haired boy's indiference vanished. "What do you mean?"

Ruka repeated his words to Aidou. "What do I mean, Hanabusa?"

Aidou slowly turned his eyes to her. He could see the hate in her eyes and hear the poison in her voice. "I..." He couldn't speak anymore, his voice had been captured by his fear.

Ruka murmured, shooting him a deadly glare. "Talk, you coward. Talk or I'll never forgive you."

Kain was definitely interested now. "Hanabusa, what is this all about?"

Aidou still refused to talk. Ruka gave him the same look one would give to a rotting pile of rubbish on the street. "Fine, I'll tell him myself. Akatsuki, your cousin and..."

"NO!" Aidou quickly put his hand over her mouth. He whispered to her. "Please don't. I can't do it anymore." Ruka bit him. "Ouch!"

She glanced at him. "You're a coward, why would I do what you're asking me to?" Her eyes landed on Kain and she took a deep breath. "Akatsuki, I haven't been seeing Kaname-sama. Your cousin's too afraid to tell you, but the person I've been seeing is..."

"Ichijou!" Aidou looked at her, desperate. He was silently asking her to go along with that story. "She's been seeing Ichijou."

She understood his silent request. But she wouldn't help him. He'd placed all the blame on her, had deserted her. "It's not Takuma. I've been seeing Hanabusa."

"Hanabusa?" Kain's eyes were as wide as physically possible. He repeated the name. "Hanabusa." It sounded so wrong, so not supposed to be it. He didn't want the guy to be Hanabusa, he wanted him to be someone else. Anyone. Just not Hanabusa. Not him... He looked at his cousin. "Tell me it isn't true."

"It's not true..."

"Now tell me the truth."

"Akatsuki..."

Kain punched the table, breaking it in half. "Tell me the truth!! All this time, you've been pretending to help me..."

"I was helping you! I tried to stop you, I didn't want this to happen! I never wished for you to find out like this. I... We've been trying to stop since the very beginning. We've just been unable to."

Kain's voice was dangerously low. "How did it start?"

"What...?"

"How did you two...start?"

Aidou and Ruka exchanged looks.

How did it all begin?...

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I know it's very very short, but I'm uploading the next chapter just after I upload this one, so it's two chapters and the other one's longer, I just think this one can and should stand on it's own :)

See, I do love you guys, ALL of you. I want to thank you all for reading and commenting, it really means a lot to me :)

By the way, some people believed Kaname was the mystery guy. Tut tut ;) Remember what happened in chapter 6 when he started crying? He said "Not even if Kaname-sama himself told me to...", so it couldn't be him! But I know lots (you know who you are) noticed it and kept to their belief that it was Aidou, well done!

P.S.: Sorry, I had to upload this chapter twice since I uploaded the one from the wrong story :p but it's okay now

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW^^!


	9. The Beginning of the End

Chapter 9. The Beginning of the End

**Disclaimer**: Nope, not mine.

* * *

How did it all begin?...

________________________________________

_Ruka finished buttoning up her white blazer. "How are things going with Shiki?"_

_Rima was busy with her __cute, orange ponytails. "Shiki?"_

_The older girl gave her a knowing look. "Come on, Rima, it's pretty obvious that you guys like each other."_

"_Why?"_

_Ruka paused to think. "Well, you're always together."_

"_Ruka is always together with Kain-senpai. Do you two like each other?"_

_Ruka sighed in defeat. "Fair enough."_

_The orange-haired girl pressed on. "Well, do you?"_

"_Of course not, we're just friends."_

_Rima cocked her head to the side, pondering. "Does Kain-senpai think the same way you do?"_

_The longer-haired girl frowned. "I'm sure he does."_

_The model put her shoes on and opened the door. "I see. Time for class."_

_Ruka sighed. Time for class meant annoying, screaming Day Class fangirls. The Guardians didn't do a very good job, but she didn't dare say that out loud, for fear of upsetting Kaname. He liked that Yuuki Cross for some reason..._

"_I can hear them already."_

_Rima's voice brought Ruka to reality. They were already outside, waiting for the gates to open._

"_I wonder if they'll give me some sweets today! After all, I'm their cute Idol!"_

_Souen's daughter sighed. Aidou was always so childish. Kain should really do something about it. And then she caught sight of him. His perfect brown hair was blowing in the wind ever so lightly that it seemed to stand still. His white uniform always seemed to shine more than anyone else's. So perfect. So far away._

"_Kaname-sama!"_

"_Idol-senpai!"_

"_Wild-senpai!"_

_Aidou didn't miss his chance to have all eyes on him. "Hello, my dear fans! Wow, you all look so pretty today!" This made some girls faint, while others just rushed to give him presents. "One at a time, my loving fans!"_

_She muttered under her breath. "Idiot."_

_Aidou turned around, holding a great amount of presents. "Hey, Ruka, I heard that! You're just jealous that you don't get gifts like I do."_

_Ruka simply shrugged him off._

_Aidou stuck his tongue out at her and turned to Kain. "Seriously, how can you stand her?"_

_Kain shrugged and walked away. "In the same way I can stand you."_

"_Hey, that's not funny!" Someone bumped into him, nearly making him drop his presents. "Carefu..." He smirked mischievously. "Yuuki Cross?"_

"_Aidou-senpai?" She bowed. "Sorry, it's hard to keep them away."_

_The blue-eyed vampire dropped all of his gifts. "See what you've done? You have to pick them up now."_

"_What? You dropped them!"_

_Aidou simply shrugged innocently. "Because you pushed me."_

"_Aidou, are you bothering Yuuki?"_

_The blond vampire started sweating. "Of-of course not, Kaname-sama! We're just chatting because we're such great friends, right Yuuki?"__ He put his arm around her shoulders, inciting the jealousy of numerous girls around them and of a certain pureblood._

"_Erm..."_

_Feeling a dark aura emanating from the Dorm President, the blond let the girl go. "Okay, so I'll be going!" Aidou caught up with Kain and Ruka. "That was close."_

"_What was close?"_

"_Kaname-sama just saw me teasing Yuuki, but I managed to escape punishment." Aidou was beaming proudly._

_Hearing this, Ruka looked back. Kaname was talking to Yuuki. His face showed such happiness, the kind you can't fake. The kind he never showed to her. What did Yuuki have that she didn't? Ruka sighed. She was being childish. Her eyes caught sight of a silver-haired boy. Zero, wasn't it? She frowned. He was looking at Kaname and Yuuki in a very disapproving way, but his eyes softened when Kaname walked away. Interesting._

_______________________________________________

"_I'm sorry, Ruka."_

_Kaname's gentle and polite voice pierced through her like a thousand __poisoned daggers. Ruka sat up straight on her bed, drenched in her own sweat. She'd had that dream again. The one where he rejects her. She shook her head. Now wasn't a good time to sleep. Getting dressed and putting her shoes on, Ruka went out. Rima was at a photo shoot, so she didn't have to worry about waking anyone up._

_Now, where should she go to clear her mind? She didn't want to go to town, it would be too noisy. A quiet place would be best, where people didn't usually go to. The Academy's forest! Perfect. Walking among the trees, she felt better already. The silence was soothing and calming. She inhaled deeply, expecting the cold, fresh air, but instead smelled... lavender? Ruka frowned. Following the scent, she found Aidou, meditating under a huge tree. Wait a minute, meditating?_

"_Who's there?" Aidou had heard steps, so he turned around. "Oh, Ruka."_

_She walked over to him. "What are you doing here?"_

_He yawned. "I should ask you the same thing, you just interrupted my nap."_

_So he wasn't meditating. Well, that made more sense, after all he was Aidou. "I just went out for a walk. What about you?"_

_He replied with an answer that she would have never attributed to him. "I just like it here, it's peaceful."_

_______________________________________________

_Aidou was walking to his normal place in the forest. Well, technically it was his and Ruka's, since sometimes she went there as well. It was very rare for them to meet there though, usually they went at different times. The forest looked so different at night... Suddenly, he stopped. He could hear a girl crying. It was soft, but he could hear it. Could it be one of the Day Class girls? He wanted to go back, but he wasn't the kind of guy who would leave a crying girl behind, so he followed the sound. Strange, it was leading him to the exact spot where he usually went to. His eyes widened. It couldn't be... No, that was preposterous, she wasn't the crying type. "Ruka?"_

_The sobbing girl turned to face him, the tears streaming down her face giving her actions away. She started wiping them away. "Hanabusa, what are you doing here at this time?"_

_Aidou walked over to her and sat down next to her. Taking a lavender-scented tissue out of his pocket, he helped her clean the tears. "You shouldn't cry, it makes you look ugly." She glared at him. "Why are you crying, anyway?"_

"_I fell."_

_He scoffed. "Regardless of what you may think, I'm not stupid. You'd never cry over something like that. Only..." He finally realized. "It's Kaname-sama, isn't it?"_

"_No." She averted her eyes, but the tears came back again, rendering her reply as a useless denial._

"_You can tell me."_

"_Why?"_

_He shrugged. "Why not?"_

_She could think of many reasons not to. "Because it's dumb and meaningless. I shouldn't even be crying over it."_

"_No, but you are. So it might be dumb, but not as meaningless as you want it to be."_

_Ruka __gazed at him. Was this really Aidou? The Aidou she knew would just point and laugh as soon as he saw her being weak. But this guy wasn't doing that, he was asking her what was wrong. Maybe she could trust him... "It's about Kaname-sama. I know it's stupid and that I should just give up on him, but it's so hard. I'm so in love with him that it's starting to hurt every time I see him. I know it's not right, but..."_

"_There's someone who already loves you with all his heart. Why don't you give him a chance?"_

_Ruka looked up. "Who are you talking about?"_

"_I think you know."_

"_No, I really don't."_

"_Akatsuki."_

_Ruka's watery eyes widened. "Aka...tsuki?"_

_______________________________________________

_Ruka and Aidou were sitting together, in silence. They'd come at the same time today, and decided that both could be there. "You haven't told him then?"_

_Ruka looked at him, inquisitively. "Told who what?"_

"_Have you ever told Kaname-sama how you feel about him?"_

_Ruka hugged her knees and rested her chin on them. She didn't mind telling Aidou things like this anymore, since he had kept his promise and didn't tell anyone about her crying all those weeks ago. "No, but he knows."_

"_Then why do you keep chasing after him?"_

"_Because I have hope. He drank my blood once, so I keep thinking tha..."_

_Aidou interrupted her, shocked. "He drank...?" No wonder she thought the pureblood felt something __special for her, Kaname never drank from anyone._

"_Yeah, but just because I offered, so he wouldn't hurt Yuuki when she was younger." She leaned her head on the tree. "You must think I'm so delusional, clinging onto this."_

"_Yeah, I do."_

_She smiled half-heartedly. "Thanks for that."_

_Aidou looked at her. Delusional, but it wasn't completely her fault. She was clinging onto something that had made her happy. But it was a fake happiness and the worst of all was that she knew it wasn't real. And still she couldn't break free. Pity. She was such a pretty, no, beautiful girl, but she tied herself down to someone who didn't feel the same. He felt the sudden urge to help her, to make her feel better._

_So he kissed her._

__________________________________________________

"_Hanabusa, hurry up." Kain stopped to wait for his cousin. Aidou had been very slow lately for some reason. Looking ahead, he saw Ruka and Rima already at the gates, together with the rest of the Night Class students._

"_I'm going." Aidou was particularly unenthusiastic today. After what had happened some nights ago, he'd come back without waiting for Ruka to reply. She didn't tell him to stay there either, so he knew that the best thing to do was just forget what had happened._

"_Hey." Kain greeted them._

_Rima bowed with her head, while Ruka answered. "Hi Akatsuki, Hanabusa." She looked normal, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened before. "How are you?"_

"_Fine." Kain spoke to her as usual, but Aidou was quiet, and kept his gaze directed at the gates. "...right, Hanabusa?"_

_Aidou looked at his cousin. He hadn't been paying attention. "What?"_

"_Are you ok__ay? You've been acting strange lately."_

_This caught Ruka's attention. He'd been acting weird? Could it be because of...? No, Aidou would never give it a moment's thought. It had been an accident. A silly accident that had somehow made her feel better and more confused than ever at the same time. Now that Kain mentioned it, she had noticed some changes in his behaviour. He only spoke to her when she asked him something that needed an answer, and usually with monosyllabic words. She remembered him changing direction when seeing her and never looking at her when talking. He'd been avoiding her, hadn't he? And for some reason it hurt._

_After class, Ruka went immediately to the forest, not bothering to even go to her room and change. It was the only place where she could think clearly and relax. It had been a week since the kiss had happened. At first, she was shocked, who wouldn't be? When Aidou left, she didn't say anything, she needed to be alone. Her first reaction was being angry at him. Why had he done it, was he just having a laugh? However, her next feeling was that of slight gratitude. Maybe this was his way of telling her that she shouldn't waste her life chasing after someone who did not return her feelings, that she should look for someone else who would treat her with love._

_But then he started ignoring her, not even giving her the time of day. It was so confusing, he was making her feel so used. Steps. She looked up, seeing him. Aidou was going to turn around and go back, but she stopped him. "Why don't you sit down? There's room for both of us."_

_He sat down, nervous. Last time they had decided to sit there together, it had ended quite awkwardly._

"_Have you been avoiding me?"_

"_What? Why would you thi..." He looked at her for the first time in days__ and found himself unable to lie. "Well, maybe a little."_

"_Is it because of the....thing that happened?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Look, we can just forget about it and act as if nothing happened."_

_He wished he could do that, he really did. However... "What if it happens again?"_

_She lifted her chin up from her knees. "Why would it happen again?"_

"_Well, I did it without thinking, because you looked so helpless. What if you feel down again and I can't help it?"_

"_Do you think ignoring me makes me feel better about it? I was so lost, not being able to talk to you..." She was so used to tell him about her problems during the few random meetings they had that him ignoring her had made her feel... strangely alone. She had missed their conversations._

"_I didn't know what to do, I still feel so guilty. Should I tell Akatsuki? I don't want him to hate me, but lying isn't an option..." He looked at Ruka, somewhat hopefully. "...is it? "_

_He wanted her to comfort him, he was the one needing help now. And she truly wanted to help him feel better, to tell him that no matter what decision he made, she would be there for him._

_So she kissed him._

* * *

**A/N:**Two chapters in a row, how nice am I? Hehe ;)

So this chapter shows how it all started between them two, as you can easily see. The events here are just some moments that take place over the course of the several weeks that brought these two together, it's not like they suddenly just thought "You're sad, so I'm gonna kiss you.". They became very close friends first and then weeks later it happened. Hope you like it :)

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW^^!


	10. I'm sorry

Chapter 10. "I'm sorry."

**Disclaimer**: VK is not mine, I merely have too much time on my hands (not really, but this is better than homework).

* * *

Kain's brain was working at an amazing speed after Aidou had told him about their meetings, accidental at first, but more frequent later on. Aidou's subtle hints, Ruka's actions... It all made sense now.

"_You don't think she's seeing someone else, do you, because that's just silly."_ Now, where had he gotten that idea from?

"_What if you don't like what you find? What will you do then?"_ _If_ he didn't like it? He _knew_ he wouldn't like the truth.

"_That bloody bastard!"_ As if he could talk! The pot was calling the kettle black.

"_Here I am, trying to keep you from getting hurt..."_ Hypocrite! _He_ was the one hurting him!

"_The only people who were here were Rima, me, you and now your stupid cousin." _She hadn't lied. There had only been four people there that day. The soft lavender fragrance he'd smelled in her room wasn't because of Aidou's sudden arrival, it was because he had been there moments before. Kain was sure he had used his vampire speed to get the doughnoughts or had them prepared already just in case he needed an alibi.

Just minutes ago he had wondered since when had those two been able to stand each other enough to sit together, but now he knew thay had been doing more than just sitting together. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know exactly what more they'd been doing behind his back.

Aidou had told her how he, Kain, felt. That's why she had avoided him when he decided to tell her himself, that day when he'd seen her with Shiki. And then she'd used Aidou's nose injury as an excuse to sidestep the conversation that he wanted to have with her. She didn't want him to say it. She didn't want to hear those words... At least not coming from him, anyway.

And Aidou had been telling him that it was simply "not the right time". Traitor, he just wanted Ruka all to himself. That selfish, uncaring, self-centered, air-headed bastard of a cousin...

Yes, now everything fitted perfectly together in his mind.

Those two were still sitting there, looking at him. Aidou seemed to have won a bit of courage in the last few moments and was looking at him directly in the eyes now, instead of just avoiding his gaze as he had done before.

In reality, Aidou was trying to make up for his cowardly behaviour earlier, when he had blamed it all on Ruka, detaching himself from this whole business by placing the responsibility on some other guy. He grimaced as it dawned on him that he had just blamed Kaname and Ichijou for his acts. Oh God, he'd just blamed the two most powerful people in that Dorm, one of them a pureblood of the Kuran line. He was sure Ichijou would be more understanding than Kaname, but he did not want them to find out anyway.

Had the circumstances been different, he knew Kain would never tell them and get him into trouble. Now, he wasn't so sure. Ruka usually wouldn't bother with his silly words. Now, she was furious at him. And she had every right to, he concluded sullenly. He'd told her that he loved her and would always be by her side. And what had he done at the first sight of danger? Deserted her and left her to fend for herself. He knew Kain would have stood his ground, no matter what was thrown at him. His cousin would have never let Ruka down.

His guilt-filled blue eyes widened as he gazed at the red-head. If he hadn't done anything, would Ruka and Kain had gotten together eventually? He knew Kain had wanted and even tried to confess a few times before, so... this could all have been avoided. Demolishing remorse gripped his entire being. He had destroyed his cousin's best shot at happiness, stolen it from right under his nose. He deserved whatever punishment Kain had planned for him and more. And the worst part was that... Aidou sighed. He couldn't even admit the worst part to himself.

Kain's voice broke the strangling silence around them all. "So, you told her that I..." He paused. It was funny that even after all this had happened, he still couldn't bring himself to say those words out loud in front of her. "...how I felt for her, and still you went ahead and kissed her?"

Aidou's shoulders slumped immediately, but his strong gaze was unwavering. "Yes."

Ruka bit her lower lip. "It wasn't just his fault. I'm responsible too. The second kiss was my fault."

The blond boy looked at her and whispered, concern lacing his voice. "Don't." He turned to Kain. "I'm sor..." His voice faltered as he saw Kain's expression suddenly become harsher. He obviously did not want his apologies. Aidou scowled. Well, he was going to have to hear his apology anyway. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Kain nearly spat the words. A low chuckle that combined sadness with sarcasm graced his voice. "No, you're not. I've known you all my life, I know how your mind works and your mannerisms as if they were my own. And I can see you're not sorry."

"You're giving yourself too much credit then, because I truly am sorry, Akatsuki, whether you like it or not." His eyes softened. He spoke to the two people sitting with him. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to both of you. I meddled when I shouldn't have and now everything's a complete mess because of it. I'm sorry for telling her about your feelings and then later kissing her anyway. I'm sorry for being selfish and taking your mind off anything that wasn't me, and preventing you from noticing Akatsuki. I'm sorry for all those promises of being always there for you that turned out to be empty words." His eyes fell to the floor, but he forced them up again. "And above all, I'm sorry for not being sorry."

He had finally admitted it. He wasn't completely sorry. He did despise himself for what he had done. It was sneaky, disgusting, loathsome, every negative word would be appropriate to describe his actions. He did feel sorry for everything he had just apologised for. However, part of him didn't feel sorry at all and was glad this had happened. Because, even though he had ultimately blown it to pieces, he would always cherish what he and Ruka had had, so there was no way he could regret it 100%.

Before the fiery vampire could reply, his head snapped up as soon as he noticed Aidou standing up. Ruka's lips twitched, was he leaving? She soon learned that he was not. Aidou walked up to Kain, standing in between the amber-eyed boy and the girl who had unwittingly broken his heart.

Kain arched an eyebrow. "Wh..."

"Punch me." The words came out matter-of-factly.

"What?" Both Ruka and Kain asked the same question at the same time. Was Aidou mad? Didn't he know that Kain was much stronger than he was?

Aidou simply repeated his request, this time with a more determined tone. "Punch me. As hard as you can."

Kain resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Stop playing around."

"I'm not playing. What I did was despicable, I deserve a punishment. Besides betraying your trust, I even tried to deny it and let Ruka deal with it alone." He glanced at her, an affectionate, loving sadness filling his eyes. He didn't expect her feelings for him to remain unchanged after that. His gaze went back to Kain. "You would have taken responsibility for your actions."

Kain considered his request for a bit. He wanted him to punch him? The idea of taking his frustrations out on Aidou was very appealing. Almost too appealing. "No."

The blond groaned. "Why not? Didn't you hear me? I'm not even sorry for what I did, and still you won't beat the crap out of me?" He pressed his hand against his forehead. "How can you be so understanding and kind?"

Kain smirked. "I'm not. This is your punishment."

Aidou shot him an inquisitive look. How was doing nothing to him a punishment? However, Ruka understood what was going on and gave him an answer. "He's going to let you wallow in self-pity and bottomless guilt. Beating you up would be an easy way out for you." She nearly glared at Kain, but couldn't do it, merely managing a hurt look. "You want him to put himself through hell?"

He gave her a sharp look and remarked, with a smooth voice. "I've been through hell for years. I'm sure you'll soothe his pain though... as I imagine you have before."

She understood what he really meant. He was angry that she hadn't noticed how he felt for years and was now accusing her of sleeping with Aidou. Her eyes narrowed minimally as this thought crossed her mind. "You have every right to hate me, but you know that I didn't do what you're insinuating."

Kain's temper flared slightly. "You kissed, that's all I meant."

"Yes, we did. And to tell you the truth, I am sorry that it happened," She didn't notice the disappointed look on the face of the blond as those words cut right through him. "but you know what? I never promised you anything or even lead you on. If I did, I didn't mean to and you know that. But don't you dare sit there on your high horse and look down on me for not feeling what you want me to feel, because you do the same thing."

His eyes widened a fraction, and he looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"How many girls have you turned down? And I'm not just talking about human girls, but vampires as well. I can think of a few who loved you for years and then confessed, just for their dreams to be gently and politely shattered by the man who never once looked their way. It doesn't excuse my actions, I know that, but you never gave them a moment's thought, so maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge me."

The room's temperature rose significantly. Kain merely stood up and walked to the kitchen door, stopping to gaze at Ruka. His lips parted, but no words came out, and he left.

Aidou took a deep breath as soon as he realized that he had forgotten to breathe for the last seconds. It was done now, and it had turned out exactly as he had imagined it would all those times before, when he had debated with himself over whether to tell Kain everything or keep lying until he found a better solution. He slowly turned his head to his left to look at Ruka. Remorse gnawed at his insides once more when he realized that she was holding back tears.

________________________________________________

Kain could feel his muscles twitch with anger as he walked away from it all. Stupid! He didn't know if he was talking about Aidou, Ruka or himself. Maybe he was referring to the three of them at the same time. Aidou had done the worst imaginable thing to him. Of all the inconsiderate things he had done to him, this was unarguably the worst one. How could he? What had he done to deserve this? And Ruka, what was wrong with her? How could she choose his childish playboy of a cousin over him? He was the one who had always been by her side, not Aidou! It wasn't fair. He had endured her devotion to Kaname for years, but Aidou suddenly feels something and gets her in a matter of weeks? He gritted his teeth. Maybe he _should _have punched him after all. He took a deep breath. No, letting him drown in guilt and shame was a more fitting revenge. Kain knew he wasn't acting as his usual self, but he was really hurt. And the worst part was that he had been hurt by the two people he cared the most about.

"_I'm sorry."_

Kain scowled, his fists involuntarily clenching. 'No, you're not sorry at all.' And that pierced his heart like a poisoned dagger. His cousin wasn't nearly as sorry as he wished to be. Kain had seen it in his aqua-marine blue eyes. Yes, he had been sorry for all the things he apologised for, that was a fact. However, not once had he actually apologised for having a relationship with Ruka. He was obviously not sorry about that and was being honest with Kain. The red-haired boy shook his head, frustrated. Did he really want that kind of honesty coming from his usually immature cousin?

"_I've always been mature. It just took you this game of spies to acknowledge it." _Kain smirked. No, Aidou was wrong, he hadn't always been that mature. Kain was sure this was all due to Ruka's positive influence on him.

"_Really, you're so immature..." _Ichijou's remark was right. The opposite situation had happened to Ruka and she had become slightly more childish than before. Obviously, Aidou was rubbing off on her too.

"Kain, would you like to join us?"

His amber eyes looked around him, his senses awakened by Ichijou's question. Without realizing it, he'd wandered to the main living room where Shiki, Rima and Ichijou were sitting and chatting about something, even though Ichijou was doing most of the talking.

Kain's eyes hardened and automatically glared at the blond. He looked so much like his stupid cousin: same hair colour, just lighter, same personality, just friendlier. However, it wouldn't have hurt half as much if it had been him betraying him, instead of his cousin.

Ichijou gulped, suddenly feeling extremely uneasy under Kain's angry, deadly stare. Had he done something wrong? He asked, hesitating somewhat. "Is everything alright?"

Kain's eyes softened considerably and he opened his mouth to answer in a voice completely devoid of hope and life. It came out as a sorrowful whisper strangely laced with hatred for the green-eyed boy. "Why couldn't it have been you?"

_______________________________________

Ruka's feet felt like lead as she slowly walked through the forest's dusty floor as if it was made of pins and needles. She lifted her gaze. Those trees, once so calming to her, were now mocking remembrances of her own selfish stupidity. Before today, whenever she looked at the foliage, she would smile, silently thanking them for the tranquility and security that she had found among them. But now, she could only glare, silently wishing it had never happened, that she had never set foot here. And still, here she was again, seeking solace from her problems.

Aidou wouldn't be here today, that much she knew. Actually, she didn't know, she merely hoped for his absence. At least that's what she was telling herself, that she didn't want to see him right now. Since when had she started lying to herself? She desperately wanted to see him, to talk to him like they did before... before this whole mess happened. She didn't have the will to turn around and tell Rima about it just yet, and the only other person she trusted was somewhere she didn't know about, hating her guts.

"_He's not going to forgive..." _She let out a long, heavy sigh. She'd known that since the very beginning. She had imagined what his reaction would be like, and even though it wasn't as violent as she imagined, it was twice as painful. She wasn't sure if he was planning on giving her the same punishment as Aidou, but it was already working marvelously well. Her lips twitched. _Punishment_. They were waiting, hoping for something from Kain that would make them feel less guilty and called it punishment. They wanted to believe that it would make him feel better, but what they really cared about was in making themselves feel less remorseful.

She shook her head and decided not to think about it until she reached her secluded place, where she could sort out her thoughts and feelings. She wondered how Aidou would be feeling right now, and what he was doing. Looking ahead, she saw someone already sitting there. Carefully stepping closer, she recognized it as a male silhouette. Her heart skipped a beat. Could it be? She inhaled deeply. No icy lavender, just hot spices. Kain.

Sensing someone near, the boy with fire locks looked behind him. Ruka was there, a stormy twirl of emotions behind her worried brown eyes. She turned to go back. Something inside his chest tightened and he couldn't control his mouth. "Wait."

She stopped suddenly, trying hard no to move at all, fearing that doing so would break... What else was there left to break?

"There's room for both of us." He mimicked her words in a soft whisper, silently pleading with her to stay.

She understood his silent request and, unlike what she had done when his cousin begged her to lie with him earlier that day, she acquiesced to Kain's gentle demand. Turning around, she slowly walked up to him, nervously sitting beside him.

After several moments of silence, Kain cleared his throat. "Why?"

She didn't look up at him. _Why?_ What exactly was he talking about, there were so many things he could be referring to. "Why what?"

"Why would you choose him over me?"

'You can't choose who you love.' Her eyes hardened. Love, such a fickle thing. Cupid was a devil with an angel's face, and hearts were his toys. "I don't know."

Kain didn't say anything for a while, pondering on her answer. She was being honest, he could tell that she really didn't know why. He had a theory. Maybe it was because Aidou had taken the initiative, instead of simply looking from the sidelines, as he usually did. Maybe, just maybe if he had told Ruka how he felt before, maybe... He didn't dare go on, for fear of what he might do. "Has he ever... drank...?"

Ruka's eyes widened at the unexpected question. "No." Blushing, she remembered a moment in her room when it had been particularly difficult for them to resist, but they had refused to give in to their urges. "Nor have I."

Kain nodded. Somehow, it made him feel slightly better to know that. It meant that Aidou wasn't as ingrained in her mind as Kaname had been. He looked up at the sky. He had never told her, had he? Even though she knew it now, he still hadn't told her. He closed his eyes, slowly opening them again. It was only fair. "I love you."

Ruka tensed immediately, taking in a sharp breath. He had finally said those words. She bit her lower lip, trying to stop it from trembling too much. He was waiting for an answer, and she didn't have a clue of what to tell him.

He noticed her uneasiness. He knew he had put her on the spot, but he wouldn't take it back. Not now. He deserved a chance to tell her, didn't he? But something inside of him sank as he saw her guilty expression avoiding his eyes. She looked so broken, so helpless, so... vulnerable. He knew Aidou was observing them from afar, but he didn't care. Not anymore.

He kissed her, claiming the lips that Aidou had tasted so many times before.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, here's the update. I really don't know what to say, really, it pretty much speaks for itself, I guess. I truly hope that you all like it and that it was worth the wait :)

So, guys if you liked the chapter, didn't or have any opinions/questions, you know what to do...

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW ^_^!


	11. I'll be waiting

Chapter 11. I'll be waiting

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Knight.

* * *

The blond was staring up at the ebony-black sky, thinking about what he had just witnessed. Kain's earlier words had shocked him to the core. He had looked so angry, yet sad. Furious, yet... heartbroken?

"_Why couldn't it have been you?" _

What had he meant by that? His amber eyes were so void of feeling that Ichijou had wished it _had _been him doing whatever it was that had been done, so that Kain was not so heavy-hearted. What had happened? Kain had left after that, without saying anything else. A few moments later, Ruka had hurriedly left as well, without even noticing them sitting there. And then Aidou appeared, dejectedly walking to the door. He too would have left if Ichijou didn't stop him.

"Aidou, what's wrong? Did anything happen between you, Kain and Ruka?"

The honey-blond boy turned his blue eyes to him and after a moment of silence replied, in an embarrassed tone. "It's complicated. Did they tell you anything?" Aidou's body language was very different from normal. He wasn't as welcoming and confident as usual, instead he seemed withdrawn.

"No, but Kain said something very curious." Ichijou stroked his chin, his brain thinking of all the possible events that might have taken place between the usually inseparable trio. But none even dared go into the realm of the reality of the situation, as it was too ludicrous a notion. Not even someone who read so many romantic mangas filed with love-triangles would have guessed what was going on. "Maybe you could enlighten us to its meaning?"

"'Us'?" Aidou looked around and found Rima and Shiki silently listening to their conversation with the closest thing to curiosity that they could muster. He sighed, annoyed. "You know, it's rude to eavesdrop."

"We're not eavesdropping."

"You're the one who isn't paying attention to your surroundings."

Aidou averted his eyes. "Whatever."

Ichijou noticed that his fellow blond's 'Whatever' was merely being used to fill the silence, not as a response to Shiki's remark. "Aidou, what exactly happened?"

"Well, we..." He paused and tried to start over. "For a while now...erm... Me and..." His shoulders slumped, and he let out a frustrated sigh. Why was this so hard to say? "Ruka and I...." He covered his face with his hands and groaned, furious at himself. "Look, all you need to know it that I've been a selfish bastard, okay?" He left and closed the door with a loud bang.

Rima didn't blink. "Hasn't he always been selfish? I wonder why he admits it now."

The crimson-haired boy next to her played with one of her bright orange pigtails. "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he's not illegitimate."

The green-eyed boy sighed. Those two really didn't care enough to understand, did they? "Shiki-kun, he didn't mean it like that. And Rima-chan..." He frowned and turned his curious gaze to the sky again. "...I don't know why Aidou would say that either."

____________________________________

The forest seemed peaceful. The leafs barely moved due to the tiny breeze, and everything was so still that it looked like a picture, caught in the silver web of time. The serene façade concealed well what was going on among the trees. Looking at it, no-one would even think that a boy who'd been in love for years had just confessed. No-one would imagine that he was kissing the one whose heart had been stolen by his cousin. No-one would guess that the cousin was silently watching.

Brown eyes widened. She couldn't move, trapped by the redhead's strong arms. Her initial shock gave way to confusion and realization gave way to panic. Kain was kissing her. Kain was kissing her! Ruka tried to struggle against him, but to no avail. And then those words flashed in her mind, like a huge, bright neon sign.

"_I love you."_

He loved her, had done so for years. He had never abandoned her, he'd always been there by her side, unconditionally. He listened to her complaints about Kaname, and comforted her when she was crying over the pureblood. All those times, he had kept his feelings hidden, thinking only of her. She couldn't imagine how many times he had to struggle against it. He'd been successful and restrained himself. Until now.

His cousin had been unsuccessful. Aidou hadn't been able to fight like Kain had, at least not for so long. He did try. As soon as he felt that his feelings towards Ruka were changing, he quickly labelled it as nonsense. He tried not to meet her in that place in the forest. Whenever he was in her presence, he kept thinking of the redhead and silently repeating his name. He had placed himself on top of a tower, and Ruka on the rosy field below it, intent on not crossing the line, on not letting their two worlds touch each other. And still he'd fallen. _She_ had made him fall and destroyed his carefully laid out plan with her crystal tears.

Ruka closed her eyes. She wanted to give Kain what he wanted, but... 'I can't...' She gathered all of her strenght. '...because...' And pushed him away. '...you're not him!' "Stop it!"

Kain's amber eyes snapped open. He looked at the girl who had been in his arms moments before, and pent up anger filled him again. "Why do you keep choosing him? Even after all he's done, after the way he treated you... Don't you understand that he doesn't care? Not like I do. No-one cares like I do. If he did care, he would have stopped me, but he didn't. Instead, he just left. He left you here alone."

She looked at him, wide-eyed. "What are you talking about?"

"I sensed him near this place some time after you sat next to me. He was watching us, and left when I kissed you." Kain took a moment to look at her. His eyes widened immediately. She was crying. _He_ had made her cry. She had been crying all along, ever since he first kissed her, but he hadn't noticed it at all.

Ruka covered her mouth. "No..." She glared at him. "You're lying. Tell me you're lying! He wasn't there, he didn't see this! Tell me it isn't true! Tell me!"

He stepped towards her. "Ruka, I..."

She ran. She ran away from him, not wishing to waste any more time than she already had. Aidou. She had to find him and tell him what had happened. Explain that it was all a big misunderstanding, that she never meant for it to happen. As the wind blew past her, she could feel the tears streaming down her face. Why was she crying? She hadn't cried like this since that meeting with Aidou. All her tears had stopped then, so why were they coming back now? Her heart skipped as the Moon Dorm's hazy lights came into her sight. His room had the lights on, so he had to be there. He just... had to. 'Please be there.'

Ruka burst into the Dorm, not caring about the surprised looks she was receiving from everyone who saw her in that state of disarray. The Souen's daughter should always be prim and proper, however she didn't care about appearances now. Only one thing was on her mind. Or rather, one person. "Hanabusa!" She knocked frantically on his door. "Hanabusa, I know you're in there, open the door!"

After many moments of Ruka furiously knocking on the door, a voice was finally heard. "Go away."

Ruka was taken aback by the tone of his request. It wasn't his usual whiny or sulking tone of voice, it was calm and mature. He really did mean it. "Hanabusa, I want to talk to you."

"There's nothing to talk about. Please leave."

Her heart nearly stopped as she recognised a hint of begging in his words. Swallowing painfully, she rested her forehead on the cool wood and whispered, knowing that he could hear her perfectly on the other side. "Please Hanabusa, if you just let me explain." He didn't answer. "Please."

"Ruka?"

Ruka's head snapped up at the sound of her name. She didn't want to be seen like this, crying at someone else's doorstep, but it was inevitable. She didn't mind it as much if the one seeing her was Ichijou. "Takuma-sama."

There she was, with her formalities again, but Ichijou didn't even notice it. His heart broke as he saw her pained expression, coupled with her strained voice. He quickly rushed to her side and took her in his arms, trying to comfort her. "Oh my, what happened? Ruka, why are you crying?"

"He won't listen to me..." She answered, her words coming out between hiccups and sobs. "I didn't want to... I didn't know he was there... I'm so sorry..." The rest of her speech was uninteligible as she burst into tears again.

Ichijou sighed. Something serious must have happened for her to be in such a state. And why was Aidou refusing to talk to her? "Ruka, maybe we should let Aidou alone for a bit. I'm sure he'll listen to you later. Now you need a good cup of tea to help you calm down. Come on."

As he listened to their steps gradually softening until the sound disappeared completely, Aidou took his hand out of the doorknob that he'd been gripping the whole time, while he'd been debating whether or not to open it and let the crying girl outside come in. He walked to his bed, and fell down unceremoniously, looking up at the ceiling.

"_Please Hanabusa, if you just let me explain."_

He frowned and turned to his pillow, squeezing it tightly. Explain what? How it had happened? Why it had happened? He already felt bad enough after hearing her say that she was sorry their kiss had ever happened, he didn't need this thrown at him either. When he saw Kain kissing her, his first impulse was to go there and beat his cousin senseless, but he had restrained himself and thought first. Did he really have the right to interfere? Things were now going the way they should have from the beginning, therefore he couldn't complain. So he just left.

Remembering her words to Ichijou, he smiled bitterly. She didn't understand that this was for her own good, that he was thinking solely of her happiness. He sighed, trying to ignore the blunt pain in his chest. Being altruistic was hard, how on earth had Kain managed to do it all this time? That was one of the many reasons why Aidou would never measure up to the redhead. He smoothed his hair and clenched the fabric over his heart. Would it always hurt like this? It had been so easy to say he'd leave her before, why was it so hard now? 'Is it because now I truly mean it?'

_______________________________________

"I wonder what's going on between those three." Shiki looked at Rima sideways, waiting for her to reply. Surely she knew what the situation was, since she shared a room with Ruka. He understood why she hadn't told him anything. After all, it had nothing to do with them, and they rarely talked about things that were of no concern to them. However, the situation was now mildly interesting, so he expected her to offer some commentary.

Rima played with the pocky in her mouth, thinking. She had noticed a slight difference in Ruka's demeanour a while ago, but it hadn't interested her enough for her to look into it. She furrowed her brows, trying to remember. What else was different? It was probably something really insignificant that held the answer. Something insignificant... Rima remembered that Ruka had changed her perfume. Her part of the room didn't smell like roses anymore, it had a stronger smell of... Her blue eyes widened a fraction of a centimetre. "What did Kain-senpai tell Ichijou-san?"

Shiki blinked upon hearing this question that was unrelated to his own. "I think he said why couldn't it have been him?"

"And what did Aidou tell us?"

"That he was a selfish bastard?" Those words lost all of the blond's original anger and inner conflict when said by Shiki.

She shook her head. "Not just that. He mentioned Ruka's name. He said 'Ruka and I', or something along those lines. And Kain-senpai was mad." She turned her beautiful electric-blue eyes to Shiki. "Ruka's half of the bedroom smells like lavender."

Shiki looked at her, his usually sleepy face now exhibiting a serious and nearly shocked expression. He remembered how Aidou had sounded jealous because of him spending some time with the long-haired girl. Now he knew why. He stroke his chin. "This is unexpected." Well, not really that unexpected, those two had been unusually close to each other a while ago. "I wonder how they're coping."

"By the looks of it, not very well." Rima fought the urge to frown again. After all, wrinkles weren't good for a model. Should she go and talk to Ruka about this? Would the brown-eyed girl even want to talk about something like this? Wouldn't it be too personal? After all, if Ruka hadn't told her anything about it, it must have been for a good reason, right? Rima pouted at this thought. Didn't Ruka trust her anymore? "Shiki, do you tell me all of your secrets?"

Blue eyes studied her face. What a strange question. "There are no secrets between us."

She pressed on. "But if there were, would you tell them to me?"

He blinked slowly, cocking his head to the side. "But then it wouldn't be a secret anymore."

"So?"

He shrugged and patted her head, whispering softly to her hair. "So nothing. There are no secrets between us and that's it."

Rima leaned on him, placing her head on his shoulder. "I see." She wished it was like that with Ruka as well.

Shiki looked around, suddenly noticing that something was missing from the scene. "Where's Ichijou-san?"

_____________________________________

Glittering green eyes widened ever so slightly as Ruka revealed what had been happening for the last few months. It was unbelievable. He had never thought that Ruka and Aidou could have become so close without anyone even noticing. Ichijou felt a pang of pain in his chest, pain that felt like disappointment for not having noticed something very important before it was too late, and also a bit of guilt. Guilt because he was indirectly responsible for the situation. He wished even more it had been him instead of Aidou, just to spare Kain the pain of being betrayed by his cousin. Yes, that was the only reason he would acknowledge for this wish. But now wasn't the time to imagine hypothetical situations. What was done was done, and a solution had to be found.

He looked across his desk, at the girl whose tears were now dried and was busying herself by looking at the tea in front of her. He had suspected that Kain's eyes held more than just friendship for her, but never did he see anything like it in Aidou's blue pools. Maybe because he never really bothered looking for it there. No-one had. "Ruka, do you really want to be with Aidou?"

Brown eyes looked up quickly and her answer was equally fast and determined. "Yes."

'Why?' Ichijou averted his eyes from her. He couldn't ask her that, Kain had probably done it already, and it would just worsen the situation now to demand an explanation from her while she was in this state. "Even though he won't speak to you?"

Ruka smiled bitterly. "It's okay, it wouldn't be the first time he ignores me. I just want to tell him that I didn't mean for the kiss between me and Akatsuki to happen. What happens after that is his choice, and I'll accept it."

That didn't seem fair. "Why his choice? What about what you want?"

Her smile never left her face, but the bitterness now gave way to a sad, although genuine, happiness. "I've made my choice. If he wants me too, then all the better. If not, I can't force him against his will."

The blond murmured, while thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Saying that, you remind me of Kain."

Her lips twitched, and her smile widened a bit more. "I guess that's irony for you."

"No, Ruka, irony is when you buy a suit with two pairs of trousers, and then burn a hole in the coat." She giggled a bit at this and that made him smile. However, the situation was no laughing matter. "But are you okay with that? If he rejects you, will you still think this way?"

She shrugged, nonchalant. "I hope I do. I'm just afraid he won't want me near him again..."

He gazed at her for a moment, thinking of something. What he was considering, she would never know. Seemingly reaching a conclusion, Ichijou plastered a familiar grin on his face and winked playfully, trying to reassure her. "Hey, don't worry, there's always good old me."

Ruka tried to grin back, but his words reminded her too much of Aidou's. _"Hey, don't worry, I'll always be there for you."_ She knew Ichijou's friendship was much more constant than Aidou's love though. "I know. And I'm very grateful for that."

Ichijou was happy to hear her talk with a light tone, after hearing her heavy voice while she told him what had happened. So happy that he hated having to ask the next question that was sure to darken the mood in the office. "And Kain? What about him?"

Ruka sighed slightly. It was an inevitable question. "As I told you, he already knows everything. There's nothing I can do about him."

"Ruka, you should be more considerate. People will think you're a cold-hearted girl."

She shot him a sharp glance. "Do you think I'm cold-hearted?"

Of course he didn't. It was a very delicate situation and no decision that she took would make everyone happy. On one hand, it was a cruel thing that Ruka didn't love Kain back and had fallen for his cousin. On the other, it would be even more cruel to the girl and the redhead if she lied and pretended to love him. She wasn't cold-hearted, and that was the problem. If she was, maybe she would still be pining over Kaname and ignoring every other guy, and everything would still be normal. "Well, no, but other people might."

"Let them think it then. I love Akatsuki, but not in the way he wants me to. Just like I accepted that Kaname-sama would never love me back, Akatsuki should accept this too."

Ichijou fought against the urge to sigh in frustration. "Yes, but you needed Aidou to forget about your feelings for Kaname. Kain hasn't got anyone to help him. The only person who could help him already helped you, and is now the most unfit person for the job. It would be very hypocritical of Aidou to tell Kain to bury his feelings for you."

"What do you propose I do, then? Every way I turn, there's a dagger pointed at me, I don't know what to do to make Akatsuki happy." Actually, she knew exactly what might make him happy, but she wouldn't do it. It would only hurt both of them in the long run.

Ichijou read her expression. "What if you fall for him?"

"What?"

"Well, maybe if you give Kain a chance, you will fall in love with him."

Ruka nearly stood up, outraged by his careless words. "Takuma-sama, how dare you even suggest something like that? I'm not someone so fickle as to change my mind so easily!" 'It took Aidou so much to even make me stop thinking about Kaname-sama every hour of every day. Does he think it's as easy as that?'

"Ruka, I didn't mean to offend you. I just thought that if you gave Kain a chance, you could forget about Ai..."

"I don't _want_ to forget about him! I don't want to fall in love with anyone else! Can't people just understand that?" She lowered her voice. "I'm happy... for the first time in years. Why should I do what others want me to?"

"I'm sorry. I just thought... It doesn't mater, it was a stupid thought. I see you're really serious about this. He must have calmed down by now, so I'll go and talk to him."

"You? But I..."

The Vice-President held up his hand to silence her. "No. I'm going alone. You stay here and drink your tea." He walked around his desk towards the door, but stopped just as he passed by her. Cocking his head to the side a bit, he hugged her, making her gasp a bit because of the unexpected move. "Don't worry, everything will be alright, and if it isn't, then I'll still be here for you." He gave her his trademark grin and left, closing the door behind him.

As the blond walked to Aidou's room, he stopped as an idea struck him like lightning. Rima. Ruka probably needed her right now. He quickly spun on his heels and nearly ran downstairs. There, he found Rima resting on Shiki's shoulder, both with their eyes closed, but not sleeping. "Hey, Rima. Ruka's in my office. I think she'd like some company."

Immediately after hearing this, Rima opened her eyes and got up. "Shiki, I'm going now."

Shiki answered with a yawn, thinking about glaring at Ichijou for taking her away, but too lazy to do it. Actually, just thinking about it made him sleepy. Time for bed, but bed was too far away, so he would have to make do with the sofa.

Listening to Shiki snoring, Ichijou sighed. That boy could sleep through a storm, just like Aidou. Speaking of which... Ichijou went up the stairs again and turned in his initial direction. Reaching the bedroom shared by the two cousins, he knocked on the door. A sullen voice came from inside. "Who is it?"

"Me."

Aidou got out of bed. What was he doing here, shouldn't he be with Ruka? He opened the door, but not enough to let the other blond in. "What is it?"

Smiling, Ichijou simply barged his way in by shoving the door aside, accidentally hitting Aidou in the face. "I want to talk to you."

Grumbling inwardly and rubbing his nose, Aidou closed the door. "About?"

"Well, I need your advice."

Aidou blinked. Advice? Usually Ichijou was the one who handed out advice, he didn't have the need to ask for it. And why was he asking _him_, of all people? Something wasn't right... As Aidou thought about what it could be, Ichijou drew the curtains and let the sunshine in. "What do you think you're doing?"

The green-eyed boy pouted. "Aidou, it's a beautiful morning, it'd be such a waste to keep the light out."

'Morning already?' Sitting down on his lavender-scented bed, Aidou sighed, annoyed. "Look, what advice do you need?"

"Oh, I have no need for advice."

The golden-blond vampire nearly fell off his bed. "Then why did you say you did?!"

Ichijou sat on Kain's bed, facing Aidou. "It's not for me, it's for someone I know. Well, more than one person, really. You see, I have these friends who are in a bit of a pickle."

"May I ask who?"

"Rin, Kyo and Ayame." Aidou finally looked up at him, frowning. He was sure Ichijou had talked about these names before. Something about the Zodiac animals... "It's a delicate problem. They were all very good friends. Kyo has been in love with Rin for years now, but never told her because she liked..." Ichijou thought for a bit. "...Kureno. Anyway, Kureno didn't like her back. So one day Rin meets Ayame accidentally and they started to get close to each other. This escalates into a full-blown relationship. Kyo and Ayame are actually related, and Ayame knows how he feels about Rin."

Aidou's eyes hardened as this story became too familiar, and he warned the other aristocrat. "Ichijou..."

The manga-loving vampire went on as if nothing had been said. "Rin and Ayame decide to be honest with Kyo, who was by now suspicious. It doesn't go very well and things go sour between the three. Kyo kisses Rin and Ayame sees it. He then refuses to talk to h..." The words stopped as Ichijou found a red-eyed Aidou pinning him down, with his hands tightly squeezing his neck.

"Shut up, that's enough!" Aidou was furious. Who did Ichijou think he was? "You have no idea how it feels! You don't know!" An indescribable emotion flickered across green eyes, making Aidou loosen his grip a bit. This allowed Ichijou to keep talking.

"Ayame refuses to talk to her, but still Rin loves him and rejects Kyo. She says that she doesn't want anyone else. Now, Aidou, what is you advice to Ayame?"

Aidou let go of him completely, the red bleeding out of his eyes.

"_Ayame refuses to talk to her, but still Rin loves him and rejects Kyo. She says that she doesn't want anyone else."_

The blue-eyed boy stepped away. His heart beat uncontrollably, painfully pounding against his ribcage. 'Aidou_ refuses to talk to her, but still _Ruka_ loves him and rejects _Kain_. She says that she doesn't want anyone else._' That was its real meaning. _She doesn't want anyone else_. Sighing, he murmured, frustrated. "That silly girl." He gracefully spun on his heels and walked towards the door, but before leaving he turned around and shot a deadly glare at Ichijou. "You... Don't ever let me smell her on you again."

As Aidou stepped out of his room, the lingering smell of salt hit him. He recognised it as Ruka's tears. He knew she'd been crying, but not this much. Deducing that she must be in Ichijou's office, he gracefully walked there, not bothering to knock. Opening the door, he saw Rima and Ruka sitting on the sofa. Both stopped their conversation and stared at him. Ruka's eyes were filled with renewed hope and happiness upon seeing him, while Rima's usually void gaze was now hard and judging. Strangely, he wasn't brave enough to look at the brown eyes, prefering the ruthless blue stare. The loving warmth just made him feel bad and caused his heart to twist even more. "Rima, could you leave us, please? I'd like to talk to Ruka in private."

For a moment, he thought the pigtailed girl wouldn't move, but with one glance from Ruka, Rima swiftly stood up and brushed past him, closing the door behind her.

With his hands in his pockets, he elegantly inspected her, leaning a bit towards her. "You've been crying. You promised me you wouldn't cry ever again."

'And you promised you'd never leave me.' Ruka smiled inwardly. No, she wouldn't say that, it would probably offend him and send him on his way to never talk to her ever again. She had to grab this opportunity. If he was really going to leave her, then she wanted to prolong this moment. "I promised I wouldn't cry over trivial maters."

He brushed his soft, blond hair back with his right hand, annoyed. "This is the most trivial of maters, and still you cried."

"I don't think it's trivial. It's the only thing worth crying for."

He scratched his neck, a habit he'd picked up from his cousin. She could see he was trying to contain something. What it was, she didn't know, but his posture wasn't as relaxed as he was trying to make it. "What's this I hear about you not wanting to give Akatsuki a chance?"

"Even if I wanted to, he wouldn't have a chance." Seeing his lips part to speak, she continued. "I know it sounds cruel, but I can't force myself to love him. I'd always be thinking of you, and that's not fair on anyone."

His aqua-marine eyes hardened as a particularly uncomfortable memory flashed behind them. "You didn't seem to be thinking of me when you kissed him."

She swallowed dryly. Kain had kissed her, not the other way round. "I didn't kiss him."

"Spare me, okay? I saw you two."

His breathing deepened, and she could see the hidden anger in his eyes. "Didn't you see me pushing him away?"

He seemed slightly outraged by the suggestion that he might have stayed there watching them until the end. "How long do you think I stayed there? I'm not the kind of person who enjoys seeing the girl he loves kissing someone el..." He stopped talking as soon as he heard his own words, and turned his back on her.

'_The girl he loves...' _Ruka's face displayed a contented smile. He still loved her, and that was enough, even if he didn't want her anymore. "I know you're not that kind of guy. I pushed Akatsuki away and ran here as soon as he told me you'd been watching us." She gazed at his back. "I wanted to apologise."

Aidou didn't look at her as he replied, barely above a whisper. "Its okay."

"No, its not okay."

Hearing this, he turned around, fists clenched. He couldn't keep it in any longer. "No, it's not fucking okay! Do you know how I felt when I saw that? And not just that! Do you even realise how much your words hurt me when you said you were sorry _we _ever happened? How could I be so stupid, thinking I could be good enough for you and compete with Akatsuki at the same time? Can you imagine how much I hated myself when I saw you nearly crying when Akatsuki left the kitchen? You wanted to cry because of him..."

"Hanabusa, I was..."

He interrupted her immediately. "I don't want to hear it!"

She stood up, equally as enraged. "I was crying because of you just then!"

"No, you were crying because of what he did, not because of me!"

Why was he acting like this now? Just a few minutes ago, everything seemed to be going fine. "You're being childish."

"Well, we can't all be mature like Akatsuki. Why don't you go to him, if you want someone less childish?"

Why was he being so stubborn? Why couldn't people understand it? Even Rima had said the same thing. _"Kain-senpai's the safest choice." _"Can't you get it? I don't want Akatsuki! I want you!"

"Why?!"

"Because..." There were so many reasons, some huge, others insignificantly small. "You make my heart beat faster than anyone else has ever done. You always know what to say, and even when you say the wrong thing, you somehow make it okay. Love isn't something easily explained, but I love you. No-one else can ever replace you. Not even Kaname-sama has the same standing in my heart as you do. And Akatsu..." Her words were interrupted by his lips.

He kissed her, in a way that could either be described as violent or desperate. Maybe both. He didn't want her to say his name, he wanted to wipe out any traces of Kain's kiss in her memory. He knew he was being selfish, but he was Aidou. Aidou didn't share. He'd tried to do what seemed to be the right, honest thing to do, but it had hurt too much. Kain was the altruistic one, not Aidou. He was the egoist one, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, it's not like he wasn't taking her feelings into account. He was. She loved him too, and she'd made it very clear. It wasn't the kind of overly-obsessive 'love' that she'd felt for the pureblood, nor was it the kind of friendly love she gave to Kain. It was the complete package: obsession, friendship, desire, everything and then some. And he wasn't going to give it up to Kain. He loved his cousin like a brother, but he loved her more. Breaking the kiss, he looked her in the eye. In the back of his mind, he lectured his heart for being so fickle. "Are you sure about this?"

She gazed at him softly, and he could see the blissful relief in her shining brown eyes. "Yes."

"I can't remember how many times I've changed my mind about you."

She placed her index finger on his lips, effectively shushing him, placing her head between his chest and shoulder. Closing her eyes, she smiled as she inhaled his lavender perfume. "Now is not the time for that kind of talk. Let me just stay like this for now."

_______________

Kain closed his amber eyes as the cool night breeze that came from the open window touched his skin, soothing the effects of the hot afternoon. He looked opposite him, where his cousin was looking at the chess pieces, evaluating his next move. After seeing how happy Ruka was, Kain wasn't able to keep trying to break them up, so he decided to go back to not showing his romantic feelings towards her. "You know that I still haven't forgiven you."

Aidou didn't look up, concentrating on the game. Besides, it was pretty obvious that Kain wouldn't forgive him. It didn't mean they weren't back on good terms, though, at least for Ruka's sake. "Of course."

Kain placed his pawn nearer to Aidou's side of the board. A few more steps and he could get his queen back. "You'll eventually make a mistake, and I'll always be here, waiting."

"I know." Aidou looked back, to where Ruka was sitting down with the others. Yes, he would eventually make a mistake, but until then... "Checkmate."

Kain smirked, looking down at his king. "I want a rematch."

* * *

**A/N:** That's the end of "Unfaithful", folks. I'm feeling more emotional than I thought I would, I'm going to miss writing this story, it has a very special place in my heart. I want to thank everyone who's been with me since I started this story, everyone who found it in the middle, and everyone who will read it after it's finished. Thank you so much!

Now, if you're curious about how Ichijou's indirectly responsible for what happened between Aidou and Ruka, you should read the prequel that I'm writing for this story ;) Oh, and I would be very grateful if you gave me some ideas for a sequel and even for the prequel itself :)

Once again, thank you and please review ^_^


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